Holding The Future
by TimelessRetreat
Summary: AU. The plan was to go back a few months even a year, but things don't go as planned. Hinata is sent back further than anticipated, with full knowledge of the future will she sit back and let things flow the way they should or will she intervene and change things?
1. Chapter 1 Going back

Naruto sighed, his hand raking through his long blonde hair. " How long do I have to keep posing as him?" In a puff of smoke Naruto was gone and in his place stood Kiba his face drawn and tired. A month ago Naruto died trying to save one of the last bases that was located above ground, he had a stand off with Toneri, even with the nine tails' help it wasn't enough to defeat him. The only good thing about it all was that Naruto was able to damage Toneri enough that it would help the Allied forces prepare their last attack. His death was kept secret, only few knew of it, before he died he managed to assign Kiba as the next Hokage.

" As long as it takes."

Kiba growled, his face going from tired to all out pissed off. He was done posing as Naruto, acting like him, he was similar to him in some ways but that's where it ended. Kiba realized that same day that if he didn't pose as him the remaining force would most likely not follow him.

The overhead lights flickered, dust fell every time there was movement. This war was different than the last ones, this one was well thought out. Pacing around the small council room Kiba directed his attention to the people accompanying him in an attempt to block the sounds of war. Sasuke, Hinata and Shikamaru, he knew they all had lost someone, especially Hinata. Kiba was just too tired, his chakra was too low to keep on the charade.

"No!" Kiba growled."I'm tired...If I'm going down, it will be me ,not someone else."

Kiba would win them over as himself and he would see to that immediately

"Hn" Sasuke replied.

" Shikamaru, get all the generals and get Ino to send messages to nearby bases. Sasuke, map out the landscape and look for the best meeting place. Hinata, gather the rest of the trackers. In one week we lay out our plan." All nodding in assent the three ninjas disappeared. Once gone, Kiba opened a drawer, took out a picture frame and just stared at it. Kiba's knees gave and fell to the floor clutching the picture of his fallen friend. He cried one last time.

"I'll see you soon Akamaru."

One week later.

All that was left of the once great village of konoha was dead bodies and broken people. Trees with Icicles hanging from branches, to snow fights, to the villagers going out doing their shopping, all of this was now a vast empty land. The warmth was now gone replaced with misery and revenge.

This was by far the worst the village has been, it couldnt even compare to when pain attacked. The village wasn't the only one to be attacked, every one all over the World in some way were fighting just like them, or dead. Hinata shook her head erasing the memories away, her legs carried her up a steep hill, her muscles ached but she knew she had to get to her destination. Her long white coat floated behind her partially covering the front of her body from the cold winter wind, keeping in a set pattern her mind wandered once again.

After losing everything, she hoped that by going even a few months back it would help change many things, especially lost loved ones. Pushing forward ignoring everything around her she thought of the plan, it had its flaws, yes, but it also showed great promise. The young shinobi finally made it to the other side of the hill, what greeted her was what remained of the allied shinobi forces.

" You have the scroll?" Hinata turned around and found Sasuke blankly staring at her. Hinata nodded after she calmed her beating heart, moving aside her cloak Hinata took out a scroll and handed it to Sasuke's awaiting hand. He slowly wrapped his fingers around the scroll while he looked intently back at Hinata. For a split second the corners of Sasuke's mouth rose up in a smirk, but quickly disappeared.

"I already set up the distractions, the first teams are ready on your command, Ino is on standby."

" What about Aburame?"

" His team is ready, they'll let us know if they're close by." Hinata said

Sasuke nodded and turned to leave but stopped mid step, without fully turning around he spoke up. " Don't die." After addressing Hinata he walked away with the scroll in hand heading towards Kiba. Hinata could only smile, shaking her head she headed to her position which was beside the tracking groups. She recalled what happened about three days ago, Kiba had decided to come out and let everyone know what happened to Naruto, which wasn't well received even more so when he was pronounced Hokage. She was proud of his confidence, proud of the person he turned into, she was proud that Kiba won over the shinobi and that they accepted him as their leader. Now he stood proud and confident in the middle of a square that surrounded him.

" Hinata, Kiba asks for you" Ino's voice rang inside Hinata head, she turned around and made her way towards Sasuke and Kiba.

" We have an open window, Toneri is probably miles away from here, which gives me enough time to activate the Jutsu." Sasuke said while he studied the scroll memorizing the hand signs . "Here." He handed the scroll to Hinata which she took and tied it to her hip.

" I need you and Kiba here in case things don't go as planned ." All three of them knew what that meant, if for any reason they couldn't all go together there had to at least be one that did. Kiba nodded, turned around and focused on the plan and on the shinobi before him. Hinata eyed Sasuke while he performed the Jutsu, she couldn't believe that it wasn't even that long ago she had her first real conversation with Sasuke. To her it was.

The Jutsu required at least five minutes to set up and it took another three for it to activate. It was a forbidden one, so it required time and concentration. The sun had begun to set and a forbidding feeling set in all the ninja. All of the shinobi stayed in their defensive stance, everything looked like it was going according to plan but they knew better, nothing ever went according to plan.

Everyone stood still as an explosion could be heard not to far from them.

" Just received confirmation Toneri is on his way as are his puppets." Ino's voice rang inside everyone's heads.

The wind began to pick up speed, everyone held their breath waiting for more information.

" Shino said that a group separated and are coming our way in two minutes- wait no they will be coming in less than that!"

" Formations NOW!" Kiba ordered. At the same time ordering the rest of the Shinobi via Ino. The shinobi took their positions, the team that surrounded the Hokage, they all had a light blue chakra emitting from them. "Remind me again why we're out here?"

" The Jutsu had to be done in an open area." Sasuke answered

Several screams and several Jutsus could be seen, everyone stayed still waiting for the puppets to arrive and for Toneri. Hinata activated her bloodline limit , she could clearly see many of her comrades fight and many die and see the hoard of puppets coming their way. She knew this was war, but she still hated everything about it. Taking a deep breath she took her stance when she noticed Kiba call out for Ino and got no response.

" One minute " Kiba nodded towards Hinata thankful for her byakugan. " I don't see Toneri but we have less than a minute before they come. " Each passing second the air grew colder and harsher, no one paid notice. They were to focus at the war that was happening not so far away from them. "NOW KIBA!" Hinata shouted. Without hesitating Kiba gave the order, the light colored chakra rose up in a fiery blue wall in that moment puppets came rushing out and slamming right into the wall instantly disintegrating. There was an audible sigh, the technique had worked. Hinata turned around watching as black symbols formed below Sasuke's feet then moving behind him in a wide red circle.

Everything seemed to slow down, Hinata could only watch as Sasuke's body was flung to the others side of the field his figure hitting a building, he laid unmoving.

" Did you really think that your little plan would work?" Hinata looked at Sasuke one last time before turning around facing Toneri. There he was in all his glory, his white hair combined well with the weather, sets of puppets surrounded him, and his eyes- no her sister's eyes stared at her, the veins around Hinata's eyes seemed to get more pronounced. Toneri didn't wait for a reply , his hand went up throwing the ninja that surrounded the hokage and broke the barrier, his puppets rushed in attacking anybody in sight, Hinata fought trying to keep Toneri in sight, a smile formed as she saw sasuke heading towards Toneri his katana ablaze with lightning in hand. In that moment she realized that if sasuke was fighting there was no one activating the Jutsu which could mean that everything they worked for for the past month would all be in vain. . The cold wind had no affect on her anymore, she took off her coat and untied the scroll as she ran towards the symboled circle, Toneri managed to see Hinata and pulled her to himself and stopping her right in front of him. Toneri deflected sasuke's blows and threw him back once more."Sasuke activate it! , go back!" Hinata screamed, she stood right in front of Toneri watching him with disdain, she looked back at Sasuke one last time making sure he was activating the portal.

"After I get your byakugan everything you worked for will be gone, now princess lend me your eyes." Hinata smirked at him, something she had picked up from sasuke,out of the corner of her eyes she saw sasuke finally manage to effectively open the portal, she smiled in relief. Her white eyes stared back at Toneri once more still keeping the smirk on her face. "You will get nothing." with that statement Hinata moved her bangs away revealing a barely visible curse mark. Toneri's eyes widen, face contorting into anger his hand went up ready to attack when Sasuke stood right in front of him. " what?"

Hinata took the opportunity while sasuke's clone distracted toneri, she turned to the real sasuke who was right beside her with his katana out. Hinata walked forth a few steps and took a look down towards the portal, it looked like a tunnel that would lead to the underground bases, but it was more than that.

"Sasu-"

" Go before it's too late." In a flash Sasuke stood in front of Hinata, his face partially

Covered in blood. Time seemed to slow down, Hinata could only watch as her fellow ninja were torn to pieces or forced to turn against each other. Dumbfounded Hinata had failed to notice Sasuke's arm stretch out towards her pushing her backwards to the portal. She tried reaching for him, but he only moved back away from her hands. _No_. Last thing Hinata saw was his face filled with hope, his lips moving, and then a small smile gracing his stoic face.

"Sasuke!" She screamed, her arms still trying to reach him.

Hinata awoke with fright, her body going into fighting mode waiting for an attack,nothing came at her. Her white eyes cleared, she noticed she was in a room, but whose room she wasn't too sure. It was simple but yet something about it seemed familiar, she dropped her stance and took a big breath to calm herself. Sasuke, he had pushed her, she didn't understand why he would do that, he could of easily jumped with her instead. why would he do that? she asked herself once more. Tears began forming just thinking of Sasuke's stupidity. She was broken out of her thinking when the rooms door slid open and a young woman came into view, long beautiful blue violet hair and a smile gracing her features. _Mother._ Hinata wondered how far she had gone to the past, looking down she stared at her small fragile hands, too far she concluded.


	2. Chapter 2: Planning and Mememories

Chapter Two: Planning and Memories

Hinata wept like a child, she wept like never before, that's when her mother held her and took her to her bedroom, ignoring Hiashi's questioning looks. After being deprived so long of her mother's embrace , Hinata soaked in all the happiness and the safeness she got from her mother's gentle arms . She dare not hug her mother too hard since her little sister was inside her mother's womb, Hinata concluded she was five years old. Giving her mother one last squeeze Hinata moved away from her mothers arms and gave her father a small smile. After telling her mother she knew the way back to her bedroom, Hinata groggily walked to her bed and fell ontop of it without covering herself. White eyes laid unmoving, unblinking for several moments just staring out in space thinking of ways to start her planning. Hinata deep down didn't want to do anything, she didn't want to believe she was back, she didn't want to believe that she was going to do everything all by herself without Sasuke or even Shikamaru's help. Shikamaru would have been the better option to send back, he was smart and a great tactical general, but again he always said it was troublesome. Once again the thought of Sasuke plagued her mind as to why he didn't go with her, there was enough time for him to jump with her and, Hinata shook her head ,she knew thinking about that would only cause pain. Thinking back Hinata ultimately held the future in her hands, something she never wished upon anyone. Starting tomorrow Hinata would set her plan into motion, but before that she planned on taking a very long sleep, something she hasn't had in a while. Tomorrow she would change things.

The sounds of early morning arose Hinata out of her slumber, more like a nap, nightmares about the war plagued her every moment she closed her eyes. The sounds of the Hyuga getting up and starting the day could be heard all over the compound, it was the most noisiest Hinata has ever hear in all her life and she loved it. life, there was finally life walking around the compound, laughter and the quiet steps only a Hyuuga could achieve. It was surreal, for a second she thought she was back in her time and this was just all a dream, she pinched her arm just to make sure. Rays of sunshine penetrated the open window, the curtains flowed so innocently that is almost mocked Hinata. Hinata stood up and rubbed her eyes awake, taking a deep breath she prepared herself for the future she would change. In that moment there was a knock, Hinata gave permission for entrance and her mother walked in with a smile gracing her pale face, something in Hinata broke in that instant, she knew why her mother was paler than her usual tone, the birth was too much for her mother's body. When her mother had Hinata it wasn't one of the easiest births and now it was happening again. Hinata knew she would lose her mother a little after giving birth to her little sister so, she decided she was going to spend as much time with her mother, changing the future could wait a little bit longer.

" Hello there my child, did you sleep well?" A hand was placed right on hinata's cheek.

" Yes mother." Hinata smiled.

" Come, your father canceled your training today, go outside and play in the snow with the rest of the children." Hinata's mother guided her to her closet and took out a coat and various winter wear. " Now go have fun before your father changes his mind." Without even letting Hinata have a word of protest her mother shoved her to the entrance of the compound. A confused Hinata turned around watching as her mother glided through the white snow and walking back inside the main house, leaving her to play in a field of white snow, well there went her plan on spending time with her mother. The two branch family guards paid no mind to the affair, Hinata turned around and bowed to the guard that was to be her escort. Just faintly Hinata could pinpoint the movements his nose made when she bowed to him, she signed knowing the reason why he did that.

Looking over the field and watching as the children played in the snow with no care in the world. Hinata could feel the guard just a few feet back, feel his gaze upon her making her shiver. How come she never noticed how much the branch family seemed to hate her so much as a young child. Maybe it was because she was Main and he was branch, she didn't pay attention to it when she was younger , guess the hate between the families just passed over her. Most likely paying more attention to the way her father viewed her. Making up her mind Hinata ventured to a place she never visited, only after Neji passed away. Passing many children and families, Hinata and her guard made it to the Cemetery where Hinata just stood still staring out in the distance, her boots made small imprints in the snow as she walked to a specific grave. In a very Hyuga fashion stood a simple looking grave with a beautifully crafted head stone and in carved letters was Hyuga Hizashi's name. _Uncle._ If her memory still served her right, about two years ago the body of Hizashi was found right in front of the Hyuga compound entrance, she wasn't there when it happened but she knew of the Hyuga affair only after she was older. Hizashi's body was mangled beyond recognition and his eyes were gone, leaving behind dark empty sockets. Everyone was shocked, especially Hiashi, he lost a brother and for that he felt guilty for not taking the place he was meant to have instead of letting his brother take the blame. _I'm sorry uncle_. _Sorry I couldn't help save you_. Hinata with shaking hands approached the grave and touched the headstone. A lone tear traveled down her cheek onto the snow. The guard was confused and shocked, his eyes followed the little Hyuga, watching as she knelt down without caring about getting her pants wet. He wondered why this girl, his future heiress would go and visit a branch member, he knew Hizashi was her uncle but still it amazed him. Not paying much attention to her he failed to noticed the young heiress sprint off into the forest crying.

Tears flowed down Hinata cold pale face, her feet carried on, she didn't know where she was heading too all she wanted to do was be away from the grave- the grave where her cousin would soon be in the future, beside his father. Neji, by now his smiles must have faded and his likeness to Hinata gone as well. The gentle boy she remembered was gone, the boy whom she sparred with when they began their training together. Now he would take any opportunity to hurt her, knowing from her past sparring matches that Hinata didn't have the strength to counterattack him. But, she also remembered the man he would become, strong and gentle in his own way, she vowed she would make it up to him. Not only will she change things but herself as well.

" Hey girl!" A snobbish voice called out. Hinata looked up noticing she wasn't at the cemetery, trees lined up beside her and the sound of children's laughter was too far away. The snow fell and the sky was white as her eyes. Three boys approached her two were slender and the other was fuller. _This place_. Tear welled up and her face scrunched up in sadness all over again. This was the first time she met Naruto, this was the place where he saved her from the boys surrounding her and the first time she wanted to feel strong for herself. Hinata didn't cry at the words they were spewing at her no, she was crying because she was finally able to see her friend alive after he passed away during the raid.

" Hey, leave her alone!" A boy with spiky blond hair with goggles on his forehead ran towards the group his red scarf trailing behind him. Hinata only watched as Naruto successfully conjured two clones albeit tiny ones. Naruto fell backwards from the hit he received in the face by one of kids, Hinata took the opportunity and jogged behind the three boys, activating her byakugan she barely managed to see chakra points, her fingers poked certain ones in a gentle undetectable manner. They all fell unconscious. The boy with blonde hair got up and smiled greatly at Hinata, his blue eyes sparkling. " Wow that was great! How did you do it?!" Naruto keep shooting many different question towards Hinata who just watched him back with a small smile on her face.

" Ugh, I have to go, sorry- I'll see another time! Bye!" The young Naruto sped away disappearing into the trees his scarf intact this time around. The warm feeling Hinata felt was now being washed away by the coldness of winter, it was a feeling she was used to but she enjoyed every minute of Naruto's company.

"Hinata-Sama." Hinata turned around and saw her guard running towards her his Byakugan very visible. She had forgotten that she left without telling him anything, to make it up to him Hinata bowed in an apology." Im sorry, I was just filled with grief for a moment." The guard dumbfounded only nodded in acceptance. His head turned towards the threes boys that laid on the snow, Hinata watched him then quickly opened her mouth. " They were going to hurt a boy and I just-I uh-"

" let's just head back." After everything was settled they both walked back to the Hyuuga compound not before the guard took the children away to where they could be found by their parents. The guard watched as the young heiress greeted her mother in a warm embrace, he did notice a small smile headed his way, he was now more than confused. Throughout his whole shift he thought back at what he saw before he met up with the young heiress. He observed how the young girl had used her Byakugan at just five years old and effectively take down three children with one strike. He wasn't shocked that at a young age she was able to use her bloodline limit but more so the fact she striked very effectively, but what confused him more was how she appeared gentle yet looked strong at the same time. Her smiles and very respectful manner towards him- a branch member, treating him with respect. This was something he would not say to anybody, he was supposed to hate her, feel rage at the Main family but seeing her made him think otherwise. He would just observe her from afar, see if the feeling he held was true.

The now young Hinata laid awake in her room, she knew what she did to the guard would confuse him, but in order for her plan to work out the way she wanted it to she had to do it, this was just one step, the rest would be more complicated. She had enough time to change the bad blood between the two families. Hinata just hoped and prayed that her plan would work, tomorrow held another future, a future she decided she would change not just for herself but for everyone in the village. Going over her plan one last time, Hinata's eyelids slowly drooped sending her into the realm of dreams and nightmares.

"Naruto, I need you to help me with something very important, your clan has been known for their knowledge in seals."

"Yes, our chakra reserves are almost unlimited, why?" Naruto questioned, watching Hinata sigh.  
" I need you to help me create a seal."

"Create a seal? what kind? For what?"

"For me." Hinata replied with determination, she paced around the last base of the hidden village where most of the allies were held, so far Toneri hasn't spotted it yet. " I have brought all the scrolls that belonged to the Hyuga, specifically the curse seal, I need your help replicating it and changing it." Hinata looked up watching how Naruto's eyes looked distant and his expression in a state of decision. If Naruto agreed, this would really be a turn around to Toneri's power and a way for protection.

" I'm not a Hyuga though."

" It doesn't matter most of them are gone, permission is long gone since what happened a year ago." Naruto's blue eyes regarded Hinata, she really wanted this, after what happened to her sister and the rest of her family, she just wanted to protect what was left of them. His hand went to his hair, he ran his finger through it several times before turning his eyes towards Hinata white orbs.

"Alright, I'll help you, give me everything that mentions the cage bird seal." Hinata dutifully unpacked her mission backpack and took out several scrolls, she then pulled out a smaller scroll, taking it in her hand she unscrolled it, bit her thumb then smeared her blood on the scroll. In a puff of smoke more than a dozen scrolls came shooting out. "This is all I could gather." The days and night dragged on as Naruto and Hinata perfected the said seal. Awaking from the memory Hinata stared out her window watching as the stars flared in brightness, she touched her forehead thinking she would feel the curse seal, nothing. Her eyes seemed far away, reminiscing the future she left. Guess sleeping for tonight wasn't an option.

Author's Note: I want to thank Lucyole for reviewing my first story, thank you! It really means a lot to me .Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the next chapter, I may not be the best storyteller but I will try. If you watched Naruto the last, there are some scenes in here with Naruto and Hinata that appear similar to the movie. Adios


	3. Chapter 3: Itachi Uchiha

Chapter Three: Itachi Uchiha

Hinata was scared, not the scared type when it's war and death was upon anybody, no this was different, once the sun hit the horizon Hinata would be told to go train. Thing was that it wasn't the one on one training with Hiashi, it was between Neji. That was what scared her, seeing the boy with hate filled eyes look her way, reverting her back to the helpless Hinata she remembered she was. She hated that as well, mentally she was grown but her child like mind was ever so present reminding her that she was still insecure.

" Raise your arm a little higher when you strike." Hinata nodded and began striking and moving around her opponent. Hiashi counter attacked every move Hinata made but in turn she managed to dodge most of his moves. hinata figured she couldn't show how much she had improved. "Hinata, you won't train with Neji today, but tomorrow you start school, Neji will accompany you to the Academy." Hinata thought sparring with her cousin was bad this was far worse. Neji would take every chance to humiliate and hurt her at every second. This was only the start she thought. Hinata's birthday had passed like it was nothing she had a small celebration with her mother and it was announced to both the Main and Branch family that she was a year older. The branch family had attended not because they wanted to congratulate Hinata but because they had to. There was one specific Branch family member that had her attention, the guard that had escorted her to the cemetery, he had focused all his attention to her the whole time he was there. It wasn't creepy or anything, the only vibe she received from him was just curiosity and it piqued even more when Hinata had talked to all the Branch members in a respectful equal way even though she could tell they didn't want to associate themselves with her while others were not sure what to feel. Hiashi was surprised as well and Hinata's mother only smiled. Since the guard was to be her escort, Hinata took the opportunity to try to find out his name every time she visited the graves, it took Hinata awhile but she managed, Eiji was his name. His brother was Ko. Finding out that Ko had a brother was surprising, since Ko became her bodyguard he never mentioned that he had a brother and Hinata never asked. From her childhood she couldn't remember their being anybody with the name Eiji before, plus he was a branch member and in her past she wasn't allowed to speak to them, only to order.

Fingers shaking, Hinata got out of the shower and headed to her closet, today was the day she would return to the Academy, the day she would see her fellow comrades and the day Neji would accompany her. After getting ready she put on her warmest coat and headed to her mother's room. Her mother was laying on the bed covered all the way to her chest, the baby bump very visible. In two more months Hanabi would be born and her mother gone. Stopping herself from going to those thoughts Hinata walked to her mother's bed and gave her a kiss. " If I'm not there Ko will escort you back." Her mother's gentle voice rang out as Hinata walked out the room. Making her way past several Hyuga and several corridors, she made it out to the compound entrance. Eiji Hyuga had his arms crossed over his chest his white eyes staring out into the horizon, Neji stood beside him looking impatient. Hinata prepared her herself mentally and physically, she had to remind herself why she needed to help him. Shoes Crunching on the snow Hinata made it towards them, she greeted them with a shy hello. Eiji nodded and Neji's lip curled in disgust. Lowering her head she moved forward when Eiji did, honestly Hinata wished she could just open her mouth and tell Neji everything was okay, that his father was a great man but she couldn't as her throat closed up and she couldn't speak. The whole way to the Academy was silent, no one spoke, just the occasional conversation between Eiji and herself.

An enormous building loomed over the three figures , the Academy stood strong without a single battle scar on its walls. The voices of children and parents talking filled the air making everything feel alive, just like she remembered so long ago. Hinata recognized many faces, there was Kiba with Akamaru inside his jacket, tears threatened to fall that she had to look away before she became a puddle of tears. Averting her gaze she saw a tree with a swing that was occupied by boy,Naruto. His blond hair could not be missed, people just seemed to ignore him, his blue eyes were downcast and his body posture was rigged. She could tell that he felt every single glance that was thrown his way. It hurt Hinata on some level, she knew how it felt to be judged and scrutinized for things out of her control. _Naruto_. As if Naruto had heard her, he looked up and stared right at her, his frown quirked up and his blue eyes flashed with warmth. Hinata in turn smiled right back without holding back, apparently it seemed Naruto had remembered her from their last encounter." Associating with that boy, predictable" Neji said, before turning around and going to his class. Eiji just observed the small conversation, if it could be called that. Everything this little Heiress had been doing since the day he meet her personally had been the very opposite of what he had heard of her. Since the whole Hyuga Affair , most of the Branch family have been vocal about their hate towards the Main house, especially to the little Heiress. At some point Eiji believed every single word his brethren have said about her but since that day at the cemetery he thought otherwise, he saw more than a weak and gentle girl, he saw a girl capable of leading. Eiji kneeled beside Hinata and lifted her chin up, "Hey, Its okay, go to your class and I'll see you later." Hinata smiled so brightly that Eiji couldn't help but return it, her small arms quickly hugged him then she ran off to her class. He stayed put for a long time watching as her figure left his sight, this kid was something else he mused. Eiji smiled faded and his mask was replaced once more. He made his way back to the Hyuga compound passing the guards and heading to his home.

"What are you doing here, Ko?"

"Just checking to see how you we-"

" I dont need you to check on me brother." The last part was said with such venom Ko actually lost his composure."Please bro-"

"Leave, I have things to do." Ko sighed in defeat, he retreated leaving Eiji.

Eiji took a deep breath then focused his attention to his left, "Now, why are you here?"

"To let you know on how the plan is progressing, in a few days we take out the heiress, then Ne-" Eiji reached out, grabbed the collar of the Branch member and pushed him along the wall."Don't say these things so carelessly, anybody could hear."

"Now leave I'll meet up with the others later." The Branch member left tripping on his own two feet, he was useless as a Hyuga. Eiji looked up at the sky then said " You heard everything Ko?"

Ko emerged from the shadows giving Eiji a nod in affirmation.

"Hurry, we're going to be late Ino." Two girls one with pink and other blonde hair ran past her in an effort to get to class, only if they knew they still had five minutes left. Sakura and Ino, seemed inseperable at that age they had that friendship Hinata always wanted when she was younger, the bond they shared. Hinata walked in a slow pace, she wanted to take in everything that was lost, she wanted to memorize it one last time. Too entranced in the beauty of the Academy Hinata was unable to swerve away from the incoming body that bumped into her, they both fell on the floor in front of the classroom door.

"Im sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." Hinata quickly apologized.

"Its alright, it was my fault too." That voice, the voice that haunted her dreams every night, the voice she refused to acknowledge every time she went to the market and saw him. Sasuke. The Sasuke she never knew or wanted to when he went to the Academy with her, the boy who smiled at anyone and showed emotion at any given opportunity. The boy who lost his family wasn't present, not yet at least. "Hinata, correct?" Hinata only nodded in response. "Here let me help you" Sasuke got up and offered Hinata his hand, she accepted, when their hands touched pain shot through her arm."Thank you." Hinata barely managed to ground out a reply

"Kids get inside, class is about to start."

"Yes Iruka Sensei." Both replied in unison and headed to their designated table, two or so minutes later Naruto bursted through the door screaming he was present, the children began to laugh at him and Naruto followed suit. It was the only way to make it seem that their laughter didn't affect him, laughing made him forget. In a spurt of confidence Hinata called out to Naruto, the whole classroom grew quiet.

"Sit beside me?" Her soft voice called out, Iruka just watched with a small smile quite glad someone had spoken up. Hinata tapped the seat beside her, she hesitated for a moment thinking Naruto wouldn't accept her offer. To her surprise Naruto's laughter seized and a smile broke out, it was the most happiest Hinata had ever seen him. Without saying anything Naruto joyfully skipped to his new seat smiling at Hinata while he sat down. Naruto turned to Iruka sensei ready for class to commence. All through class Hinata couldn't help but think back at the pain she briefly felt when she and Sasuke held hands, she wondered what it could have been, what caused such pain and why she was having a headache all through the class. During lunch Naruto invited Hinata to ramen which she accepted, a step at a time Hinata would make Naruto's life a bit more happier than his last. Sasuke even joined them for a bit then left to train before they had to go to class again. Something that really had her thinking was Naruto, she expected him to ask her why she asked him to sit with her but the only thing he did was stay quiet or say just a few words was all. _why is he so quite? Were you like this before?_ The remaining of class Hinata often could feel eyes behind her making her uncomfortable. She could tell Naruto paid no mind to them , being a ninja was a blessing but also a bit irritating, the feeling of knowing people looking her way was uncomfortable to her. There really was no time for Hinata to ponder on the Uchiha plan she had in mind, on a way to stop the massacre from happening. _What can I do?_

" Hey Hinata you coming!?" Hinata looked up and noticed that they had been dismissed, the headache had not receded it only got worse. Smiling a bit she nodded and headed towards the door, Naruto walking beside her, Hinata put two fingers near her forehead in an attempt to block the headache. Naruto spoke up,"Headache? I get those too every time people stare at me, but they eventually do subside." He had noticed her pain. The stares continued all the way to the entrance of the exam, light blinded her momentarily and the headache got even worse.

"Hey Hinata, Naruto, I want you guys to meet my older brother Itachi." Pain shot through Hinata's head like a bullet, the pain was too much, she clutched her forehead. She could faintly hear Naruto and Sasuke call out to her then felt a hand on her shoulder before everything went dark.

"Im going to be selfish for once." Sasuke's lips turned into a quick smile before his figure disappeared and she fell back towards the portal. Hinata looked around in the black abyss, nothing seemed to make sense. why would he say that? walking around with no course in mind Hinata abruptly paused seeing a figure not too far from her. They wore a the traditional Anbu uniform, but had no mask on. In hand was a beautiful crafted katana that was raised over their head ready to strike the two figures that laid on the ground facing up at him. "My own son, betrayed by my own son. Here I was defending you against the clan. They were right." The voice of a man spoke up while there were small sobs coming from the other figure, mostly likely a woman. Hinata looked at the scene in horror, this Anbu was Itachi Uchiha the next head of clan, the man who committed genocide against his own people and the man who tortured Sasuke. Without thinking Hinata stepped closer to the figures once she realized they couldn't see her, stepping towards Itachi she could see tears running down his activated sharingan onto the floor in front of his parents. _why is he crying?_ he shouldn't be, this was Itachi the man who in a single night killed everyone; he should not be feeling any type of emotion, he looked resigned and in physical and mental pain. This was not a man with an intention to purposely kill, this was just a man with a hard decision weighing on his shoulders. He wanted no part of it. _oh itachi, it must've been a hard decision. but why?_ Itachi not wanting to hear his father say anymore his katana swung killing both parents at once. That instant a seven year old sasuke walked in.

Hinata was thrusted out of her dream with a jolt, white lights blinded her momentarily she could hear the faint beep of a machine nearby. she was in a daze, the dream only made her worried and scared for some unknown reason, the dream- it wasn't a dream it was a memory, and it was not her own. Her hands went up to her forehead past her banges and rubbed it. It was comforting in a way, the headache subsided for a bit but she could still feel small remains of the throbbing."Itachi, why did you do it?"

" What would I do what?"

Startled Hinata looked up, heart beating and hands trembling. Coal black eyes watched her every movement, no expression visible for her to read. Itachi Uchiha was in the same room as her.

 **Author's Note** : Hey guys, Im leaving more unanswered questions...sorry. Everything will be explained in due time. My updates will be once a week, so every monday, hope you liked this chapter stay tuned for the next one.

Cookie-Chan99; There will be pairings, but you will have to keep reading to find them out. :)


	4. Chapter 4: Shisui Uchiha

Chapter four: Shisui Uchiha

Itachi observed the fragile girl that laid awake looking his way, carefully his eyes roamed at her person taking as much information he could gather from her facial expression. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide like saucers, he chucked inside amused that this Hyuga wasn't very good at Hiding her emotions. Right exactly as he thought that Hinata's guard went up and she schooled her features. Itachi managed to catch of glimpse while her guard was down, her white eyes held so much pain and sadness that for a moment she wasn't a small child but a grown up with decisions, hard decisions. _What are you hiding?_ Itachi Uchiha one of the most known clan member of the Uchiha family to be a child prodigy in the eyes of the elders. At a very young age Itachi understood war and it many functions that made him desperately sought out peace, he was distraught on what to do to manage that. Now here he was , instead of seeking that peace he was paying all his attention to this little Hyuga. Something about her seemed off, the way she carried herself, yes she was mere child but no child at her age was that mature. When he first caught a glimpse of her he wasn't expecting seeing that sort of child, he wasn't about to discard his instinct. Now, why would she say what she just so clearly said loud. _Why would I do what?_ What did she know about him, to his knowledge he's only met her once or twice when his father visited the Hyuga compound or the other way around.

" Why would I do what?" Itachi asked again, he would interrogate her, she was merely just a child she would easily answer, but he would be cautious. Itachi sat in a chair at the end of her bed, his body towards the door but face and eyes on Hinata. Her head cocked to the side in confusion her shot midnight hair slightly moving, white eyes filled with so much innocence. "Excuse me?"

" You said my name."

" I did?" Nodding Itachi kept observing her, she genuinely seemed confused but it still seemed off, everything about the conversion was unnerving.

" Oh, I didn't realize, sorry."

" Then you said something else."

Hinata's mouth opened to reply but the door opened and swooping in was a Person hinata didn't recognize, he had jet black unruly hair and black eyes that were accompanied by long eyelashes and with a pale complexion. His clothes were the usual Uchiha attire, black high collared shirt and pants, he had the leaf village's forehead protector. He walked over to Itachi and started a conversation. For the mean time Itachi was busy and it gave Hinata a bit of time for her to

Come up with an excuse. He had heard her, she hadn't realized she had said it out loud. What a great great ninja she was for not sensing she had company. _You're still a child._ Hinata wondered if that's was all Itachi heard, could it be he heard more or what if she had spoken more than was necessary. She did have moments she would talk in her sleep. Memories, Hinata knew enough that she knew she wasn't having a dream more like memories. _But whose and how?_

" Who's what?" Two pair of eyes studied her, She had said it out loud again. Hinata mentally cursed herself then opened her mouth to reply but Itachi responded first.

" Shisui tell the Ho-

A scream tore out from Hinata, her head began hurting more and more each time she looked at Shisui, in one instant he had no eyes but the next he had them again. _No_. Her vision clouded, she could feel her eyes roll back her head and feel everything surrounding her fade, Hinata tried desperately not to get pulled into the memory, her child mind could not handle two in just a few hours. Itachi and Shisui ran towards Hinata, both on alert. Itachi took hold of her two small arms and held them down from her head, while Shisui held her body from thrashing, it all happened so quickly, in one moment Itachi and Shisui stopped hearing the small child's screams instead was soon replaced by the sound of a waterfall.

Both Uchiha looked around, they were in their old training spot by the waterfall and they were standing just a few feet from the cliff., they both looked at each other signaling they must be alert. " It seems like you got pulled into the memories." A tall woman around twenty stood beside them she had long dark hair and a bangs cut across her forehead, her eyes were white like the Hyuga's and she seemed to be focusing on something. To both Uchiha that woman seemed so familiar, she almost looked like the Hyuuga Heiress they were trying to help, but that couldn't be right? "It looks like the Uchiha coup d'etat can no longer be prevented. And if civil war erupts in the leaf, the other nations are certain to invade" Itachi turned to Shisui when he spoke but when he looked at him Shisui had his mouth closed and he was looking towards where the woman was looking, he followed their gaze. Two figures materialized beside the cliff , it was hard for Itachi to to see who they two men were but the moon gave enough light to see who they were, to his surprise it was himself and Shisui. _Another memory, why again?_ Hinata watched as the real Itachi and Shisui watched confused as the memory played out. Hinata could only keep asking herself questions as she watched the interaction. " Danzo stole my right eye when I was planning on using kotoamatsukami on the clan." Shisui had his back to Itachi "He doesn't trust me, he intends to protect the village his own way no matter how it looks or in what way. " Shisui turned around facing Itachi, seeing his best friend-his brother and making a decision that hopefully would change things. " I suspect he will come after my left eye." With that said Shisui fingers came up to his remaining eye and took it out then held it towards Itachi. "So, I want to give it to you before he has the chance. You're the only person I can count on, my best friend."

A coup, now many things seemed to be falling into place, Sasuke never mentioned what really happened to the Uchiha. Hinata had a feeling there was more than what the village was told, after seeing Itachi's memories she understood a little bit of the memory but not all of it. were the Uchiha planning a coup? why? what made them want to turn against the leaf? The headache she was experiencing was slowing returning, learning all the new information still made her dizzy. _There's more to come_. she mused. Even more so thinking about Itachi and Shisui here with her observing the memories was a huge risk. Not only did it put her in trouble but it also endangered the future, they were not supposed to know. _Maybe they could help me?_ Danzo he deliberately stole Shisui's eye, didn't he want to end the coup why did he have to go through all the trouble to get Shisui's eye. Kotoamatsukami, what did it do? The sound of wings fluttering caused hinata to focus back on the memories, Shisui's eyes were closed, blood was flowing freely down his face, a raven flew down near Shisui's open hand and disappeared with the eye in a burst of feathers. "I accept. But what will you do?" Itachi replied. Shisui creeped closer to the edge of the cliff while still facing Itachi. " Who knows if my death will change the situation but, I left a note detailing my decision." Both memory Itachi and real Itachi stepped up at the same time realizing what Shisui was planning on doing. " Don't try to stop me.' With those final words Shisui fell back plunging into the water disappearing from sight, memory Itachi reached for his friends hand but he was too late. The real Itachi's knees gave and fell on the ground, seeing whatever he saw play out, physically and emotionally hurt him. Watching helplessly as the person he saw as a brother die in front of him was too much for him to handle. He told himself it wasn't real and his best friend was beside him, alive and breathing. For a moment he suffered great pain , his heart ached and felt like everything was going to be snatched away from him it was too much to bear at the moment. At the same time both memory Itachi and real Itachi awakened their Mangekyo Sharingan. The memories faded and all three were back in the infirmary room silent. All three of them stayed quiet, they were processing what they had seen and they had no idea on how to react. Shisui was the first to move, he let go of Hinata and went to sit beside his friend, who had just awakened the Mangekyo. Itachi let go of Hinata's hands and just didn't move too shocked to notice Shisui beside him, his eyes wandered to the girl beside him his gaze fixated on her. Itachi started to wonder who this girl really was, was she the same girl that had watched the memories with them. She looked just like her and plus looking at the girl at the moment confirmed it,her eyes looked ages, haunted even, like she had suffered through many wars. _who are you?_ His eyes roamed Shisui's face, he looked shocked and relieved, the pain was subsiding but at a slow rate, he knew what he had awaked, seeing his friend die was a strong emotion. Who wouldn't be, after seeing those memories he didn't know what to think of anything anymore. One, there was the whole thing about the Uchiha and the coup and then there was Danzo and Shisui's death, could those memories be real or could they have been altered to show what it wanted to show. Was this girl even a Hyuga or even a child? Discreetly Itachi took a kunai and aimed it right underneath Hinata's chin, his Mangekyo gleaming red. "Who are you?" His voice was low and threatening, he was in anbu mode. Hinata peered at Shisui then at Itachi. The door to the room opened and in ran Sasuke, " Are you guys okay? I heard screaming." Itachi snapped out of it, hid the kunai and deactivated his Mangekyo

"Oh, Hinata was having another headache." Shisui responded.

" Im okay now, your brother helped me."

"Oh, well uh Naruto said hi."

"Where is he?" Hinata asked. Sasuke's smile turned into a frown and his eyebrows knitted in what could only look like anger. " When we were headed over here, the nurses saw Naruto in the waiting room and they said mean things to him then kicked him out, but not before asking me to tell you hi." Sasuke then looked at both Itachi and Shisui ,"Why would they do that to him, he didn't do anything." Itachi smiled for a second forgetting what he saw he stood up and neared his little brother, with two fingers he poked sasuke in the forehead. "Come, let's go, Hinata needs to rest." Sasuke pouted but conceded with his brother, all three of them gave Hinata a goodbye before leaving but not before Itachi sent Hinata a look telling her their conversation wasn't over. Hinata let out a sigh, she was safe for the mean time, it gave her time to think of ways to mend the situation. She just hoped that she wouldn't get a surprise memory any time soon, she still had to analyze what she witness. Those memories were helping but it also was making everything else more confusing, if her calculations were correct and she hoped she was, it meant that in two years the Uchiha would start planning the coup and in two years the Uchiha would be lost forever. _Two years to stop it_. Why is everything so complicated? The future and the past held so many obstacles and unforeseen thing that even with her Byakugan would not be able to see what her actions would hold for the future.

One week later.

Out in the Hyuga garden laid Hinata right underneath her favorite tree, the sun was out and there seeme to be no worries etched on the young girl's face but deep down there was something big troubling her. After the events a week ago, Hinata knew from that instant she couldn't prevent things herself, she needed all the help she could get and that was the two Uchiha.

"Miss Hinata."

"Eiji, how many times do I have to tell you to not call me miss."

"Many times"

"And still you do it." Hinata sat up and gave Eiji a smile, Eiji stood tall above her shading her from the sun's heat. " You have company."

"Company, could it be Naruto or Sasuke?" Three days ago Hinata managed to find Naruto's home and hang out with him. It took Hinata a while to convince Naruto to play with her, he told her that she should not be seen hanging out with him, people will only make fun of her. Of course Hinata ignored him and told him they were friends and nothing could severe that. That made Naruto smile. Eiji was there when that happened, lately he's been around more and more since Ko's been having missions more frequently. The Heiress was very impressive, he knew of the Naruto boy his little Heiress has been hanging around with, the boy with the nine tailed fox trapped inside him. He did try telling her to stay clear but she said the same thing she told Naruto. If only he could show the others about how great this Heiress could be, how much she had to offer, how couldn't they see it? Eiji wanted to stop the others from executing the plan they had in mind for Hinata.

"Sorry to disappoint" Hinata's eyes widen, she's only heard that voice once and she already knew who it was, Itachi. " I came to see how you were fairing." out of the corner of her eye Hinata saw Eiji dismiss himself, oh how she wanted him to come back.

" You both want to know don't you." She could sense Shisui up above her in the tree."Not here."

Author's Note: Hey Guys, I actually struggled with this chapter, but I managed, i've been going back revising the manga and anime. Hope you liked this Chapter. I really appreciate the reviews, and see you guys on the next update.


	5. Chapter 5 What's Next?

**Chapter Five**

 **What's Next?**

Hinata stood up and walked out of the trees' shade, she dusted the snow off her clothes, the cold air made her shiver but the sun warmed her at the same time. Hinata took a few paces in front of Itachi, she kept going knowing both the Uchiha would follow her. " As you are aware I cannot meet you out of the compound or out of sight of my guard. "

" I already talked to your father, Shisui and I will be escorting you to the Uchiha compound to meet up with Sasuke."

" Alright." Hinata had to give to Itachi for thinking ahead, he really wanted answers and by his actions he would do anything in order to achieve it. All three of them walked out of the Hyuga doors after Hinata bid farewell to her mother and father, Eiji gave Itachi and Shisui a threatening look before giving Hinata a small smile, she returned it even though she wanted to reach out to Eiji and ask him to come with her but she knew it wasn't a wise decision, plus she had to face things by herself. After five minutes of walking Hinata activated her Byakugan checking to make sure there was no one following them. _It's time._

" It's up to you if you believe me or not...you'll just have to hear me out." Both Uchiha stood on either side of Hinata, keeping their expressions as emotionless as an Uchiha could, they kept in rhythm to Hinata slow pace and waited for her to continue. There were so many ways Hinata could start her story but she felt stumped, how could someone really go about telling someone all the things the leaf village and their residents suffered through, all the things she has faced in the name of peace. Hinata could only hope she knew how to explain things and how to make Itachi and Shisui believe her, she needed as much help as she could get. Calming herself down and sorting her thoughts she began her tale. "I was eighteen when the chaos began, a man named Toneri Otsutsuki planned on wiping out all the shinobi and start a new world. We didn't know it then but he's been planning it for a long time." While Hinata continued her story, her mind drifted to those awful moments in time after the peace was broken between each country.

15 years into the future.

The space was small for a council meeting and Tsunade was getting every bit as impatient as the rest of her entourage in attendance. Only one out of the five Kages would be present as the others were busy with their issues back at home. Yamato stood beside Tsunade as her bodyguard, Shikamaru was to her left with his head down, sleeping. Hinata sat next to Shikamaru patiently awaiting the arrival of the Mizukage. _Whats is keeping them so long?_ Hinata wondered, normally the Mizukage was punctual and if by any chance he was going to be late he would have let them know ahead of time. _Maybe something came up?_ The sound of footsteps alerted the group that the Mizukage had arrived, the door swung open revealing Chojuro with an escort trailing behind him. Hinata shook Shikamaru awake, slowly but surely his head rose up and gave a small greetings to the Mizukage and took out two scrolls.

" The scrolls contain the treaty we are about to revise, if you have any changes you want to make we will negotiate them accordingly." Shikamaru said while he handed the Kages their respective scrolls. Hinata's white eyes fell upon every member, eyeing their every movement, just like Neji had taught her. Looking closely at Yamato she could see his almond shaped eyes roam over Chojuro, she glanced at him but something else caught her eyes. She tuned out the lively conversation Tsunade and Chojuro were having and focused on two of the four guards. Their eyes looks plain and dead, no emotion passed through them not even her close observations could detect anything. Discreetly she activated her Byakugan, she saw as Yamato picked up on her activation. Directly staring at the two guards she noticed their chakra patterns looked disrupted. _Something's wrong._ As she thought that one of the guards leaped taking out a kunai and heading towards the two Kages, the second one acted out and ran towards Hinata. Yamato immediately took guard, he got in from of Tsunade, the other two guards formed a cover for Chojuro. With her vision on she watched as the first guard went down, trapped by the Mizukage himself. The second guard reached for her eyes, filled with dread she closed off his chakra points in his arms and lastly incapacitated him by closing off the rest of his chakra points, he fell on the floor unconscious. Everyone looked at eachother in confusion, just beyond the walls and down the corridors to the exit, the screams if civilians could be heard.

Returning her mind back to the present Hinata looked at her surroundings, icicles were dripping on the leafless trees, the cold air had picked up but not by much. Now she wished she hadn't laid upon the snow. Hinata could feel Itachi get closer to her in rapt attention waiting for her to continue, so she did.

" That's how it first started , Toneri had infiltrated each village by using chakra to manipulate people, getting them out of it was hard. Eventually he controlled some of the kages and war fell upon us. Then pieces of the moon rained down onto earth and we had to come up with a plan." Hinata continued, " We found a scroll containing a forbidden Jutsu that would send a group to the past, the idea was to go back a year in order to stop Toneri but something went wrong and I was sent too far back."

" You just a said a group... Why was it only you?" Shisui asked.

" It was supposed to be the Hokage, the general leading the attack and a good friend and myself, but during the process of the Jutsu, Toneri attacked, my friend pushed me instead of him coming along with me. I always ask myself why he didn't come with me." Remembering only caused Hinata pain, he chose to be selfish but still he didn't jump with her. _Why?_

"We're those memories we saw?" Shisui spoke seeing as Itachi was quite.

"Yes."

"Then that means the coup happened…"

" I believe so, that how -' Hinata stopped herself from continuing, if she said what she was about to speak out would mean great tragedy to these two men. Would she do that to them, tell them what happened to their family and what role Itachi ultimately played in it? Her hand went up to her forehead tracing over the seal she didn't have, it was comforting to her, it made her feel secure and it made her forget for a little. Itachi caught her slip that he reacted immediately to it. Shisui on the other hand noticed how Hinata would touch her forehead.

" Thats how what?" Itachi insisted.

" The Uchiha massacre." Hinata said it so softly Itachi had to get closer to her.

Shisui and Itachi stopped in their tracks, emotions passed rapidly like a movie clip. Itachi was the most terrified, a massacre, but not just any massacre his clan's massacre. Who would do such a thing and what were their reasons to completely wipe out a whole clan, could Danzo have anything to do with it, the memory they saw, Shisui did mention Danzo trying stop him from ending the coup, the children. _Sasuke_. His brother, did he survive it , did he himself try to stop it?

" My brother... Is he alive? Did he survive?"

Hinata turned back to look at the two shocked Uchiha standing before her, knowing how they felt. " He does." And now the question she was fearing he would ask.

" Who was the person responsible for murdering the clan?" Itachi held his breath as Hinata opened her mouth to reply, he kneeled to Hinata's eyes level, her eyes expressed so much pain and dread. " You." she finally spoke out, it was filled with so much sorrow Itachi didn't know what to say or do about her response. _I killed them_. He faintly felt a hand wrap around his shoulder, it was comforting. Then felt two small arms slip around his neck and hug him tightly. _Why are you crying child, it should be me._

Birds Happily chirped as they flew overhead the two young children playing in the field of snow, they looked so carefree, like children should be. But for two ninja it was something they wanted to protect even though one of them was not a child as she so seemed. After learning a few things about the future not all of it since Hinata wanted to take it a step at a time. Shisui and Itachi stood side by side planning ahead and thinking on the information. Hinata mentioned she would somehow contact both of them to tell them the rest on what exactly happened with the massacre, until then they could only wait patiently as events unfolded. The were sort of glad, glad that the coup would not happen in two years, they had time to plan, time to save his clan. Itachi wanted to go over to hinata and demand more answers but he stopped himself from doing so, it would only make Hinata not to trust him and he had no intentions of doing that. Just watching sasuke smile and so happy filled Itachi with pride and heartbreak, he wondered what his brother turned out to be in the future, was he protecting the village or was did he turn into someone he wouldn't recognize?

It had been a very exhausting day for hinata, trusting someone else with her secret felt like a big load had been lifted from her shoulders. In a few nights she would meet up with Shisui and Itachi and tell them what happened after the massacre, and what sasuke turned into. For now she would not think upon those things, she had other things to worry about, february was fast approaching and then march would be upon them, her sister would be born and her mother would die. Tomorrow held another obstacle, she would be sparring with Neji as soon as she got out school. Sighing Hinata tossed and turned on her bed, trying to find the perfect position to sleep, it wasn't useful. Naruto, and Sasuke, she would see them tomorrow at school, at least that was somewhat brightening, somewhat.

"Hinata!" Hinata was tackled from behind, two arms wrapped around her middle in a tight hug.

"N-Naruto...you scared me!" Naruto laughed and apologized to her before adding " When are you coming over again, I don't see you as much." he whinned.

"We see each other here."

"That's here, I meant out of school!"

"Oh." Hinata could see right through Naruto's carefree and smiling face, deep past that mask was a boy who was insecure, afraid he would lose a friend who accepted him and didn't judge him. _Naruto, this is why I admired you, for being strong_. "Naruto, I wanted to know if you'd like to come with me and sasuke to the training grounds tomorrow? Since I don't have training with my father that day.

"Really, you want me to go with you guys?"

"Yes."

"Alright, just don't get angry if I'm better than you."

"I won'.t" Hinata giggled. The two children headed inside to start their class, upon entering every single child stared at their direction, beside her Hinata felt Naruto stiffen but walked on ahead to their table, there waiting was Sasuke with a smile on his face and waving at Naruto and Hinata. Naruto stopped for just a second before running up the step and sitting. Forgetting the glares, she walked up the step and sat in the middle between Sasuke and Naruto, they had about five minutes before class started.

"I invited Naruto to come train with us tomorrow, hope that's okay..."

" Oh. guess you beat me to it."

"What?" Naruto asked shocked.

" I was going to ask you today but Hinata got ahead of me." As Hinata and Sasuke talked about the training grounds, Naruto couldn't help but think on what Sasuke just said, he wanted to train with them, they actually wanted him. Tears threatened to fall, he blink them away rapidly and smiled so big at both his friends, happy that they wanted him. Beside the group on the next table was Sakura and Ino glaring daggers at the three children, especially at Hinata for having Sasuke all to herself. They were angry but, hey were also jealous for not being in their group even if Naruto was there. Iruka entered the classroom quieting everyone's conversations. Every one noticed there was no page number written on the board and their textbooks weren't on the table.

" Today we will be going outside and having a small sparring session, just to see how much you have learned."

" Really, finally, I've been waiting!" Naruto burst out, in a fluid motion he got up his seat and ran to the door, he was stopped by Iruka Sensei before reaching it. "Hey."

" Not so fast, we will leave as soon as I name off who you will be sparring with." Naruto huffed all the way back to his seat, as he waited for his name to be called.

"Naruto and Sasuke" both children looked at eachother nodding."And lastly Hinata and Sakura, now follow me." Hinata looked at Sakura, she kept her eyes forwards ignoring her. The last time Hinata saw her was the same day Naruto died, she stayed back trying to help the wounded but she had used up to much chakra and payed the price. She was a close friend of hers and seeing her now seemed like she had to try hard to get her friendship this time around. After putting on their coats the children headed outdoors out in the snow.

" Why are we sparring in the cold?'

" Good question, if you're going to be ninja you have to fight in any weather condition, now first up is Hinata and Sakura." Hinata stepped up as did Sakura, _it's a disadvantage though,_ with that in mind Hinata got into her gentle fist fighting style, Sakura put her arms up with her hands fisted. Sakura ran at Hinata once Iruka started the sparing, she went for a jab to Hinata's face , but she in turn dodged it and lowered herself to the floor kicking her feet right underneath her. Sakura laid in the snow surprised and ashamed, her green eyes looked around seeing her classmates with awed expressions. "I'm sorry Sakura, here." Outstretched was Hinata's pale hand, inviting her to accept the help, Sakura wanted nothing to do with her but a part of her desired her friendship. With a clasp of their hands Hinata helped Sakura up. " Thank you."

Hinata just smiled and walked back beside her two friends, she blushed at their compliments. For the next few minutes others sparred against each other, then it was Sasuke's and Naruto's turn. as the went into the field hinata could not help the feeling of pride wash over her. For as long as she could remember, Naruto always wanted to have sasuke's friendship and he finally got that after they became teammates. Watching them spar made her realize that they would become the best of friends, the type that transcended time, she would help of them find happiness and in some way make sasuke not break his bonds with his friends, that is if she managed to save his family.

Two hours later, Hinata and Eiji were heading back to the Hyuga compound after visiting Hizashi's grave and changing into workout clothes. Neji would already be waiting at the dojo, getting ready for their first sparring session.

"Miss, it's going to be okay, just do what you always do."

"Thank you Eiji." She was a nervous wreck, it was the same feeling she had when she had her first sparring with her cousin, felt exactly like that. As they neared her heart rate picked up, her finger shook and her breathing was coming out in gasps. Eiji only watched as his little heiress was scared, at least she wasn't as cold hearted as the rest of the hyuga, she was human, she wasn't afraid to show her emotions. _You're going to do great things_. Eiji realized he had to act quickly before march fell upon them. before it happened.

" You're going to do fine, come get me when you need me." He turned around and left Hinata at the entrance to the dojo, sparring one more glance at Eiji she braced herself for what was to come. she slid the door open, there waiting was her cousin who was beside her father and her grandfather. Neji critically eyed her, he looked at her with a predatory gaze it sent shivers own her back. She could feel herself being reduced to a weak state she used to be. _It's going to be okay, I can do it._

"Come Hinata." Hiashi said. And so Hinata did with determination in her eyes.

 **Author's Note** : Hope you liked this chapter! I appreciate the lovely reviews, thank you! Wondering what's going to happen in march? and the session between Neji and Hinata! What about Itachi and Shisui? Next chapter will be filled with burning answers! see you then.


	6. Chapter 6: GoodBye

Hinata could care less what Neji thought of her at that moment. Her mind was focused on the session she was about to have and ignored what her cousin felt for her. Taking off her shoes she walked to the middle where her father , grandfather and Neji stood. Her grandfather had his usual scowl in place and his eyes measure both herself and Neji. _He's trying to see who's better. Like always._ Hinata nodded to Neji while she stood in front of him he only smirked which automatically hurt Hinata to the core. She wasn't used to seeing Neji like that again, she had gotten used to the happier version of him.

" We will be monitoring your progress, commence." Hiashi and his father moved out of the way, letting the two children begin. Both children got into the gentle fist fighting style , they eyed each other watching to see who would make the first move. The air felt so thin and Hinata could practically hear her heart beat thump out of her chest. She could see her fingers shake and see her father's emotionless stare. Breathing in deeply she closed her eyes in concentration, pulling herself together Hinata made the first move. Neji was surprised to say the least, he acted quickly and missed her punch by a few inches. Hiashi's eyebrows rose in surprise but then lowered as if he were thinking. He watched as his daughter and nephew fought- no more like danced around each other, none of them landed any blows, they both effectively avoided each other's punches they, we're equal.

" Hinata, stop holding back." Hiashi's voice rang out. Hinata and Neji stopped and looked at the head clan leader.

" Holding back?" Neji questioned. He looked back at Hinata with disdain ," You're holding back!". Hinata Looked on ahead at her father ignoring her cousin, _he saw through me, he saw I was holding back_. While looking at her father's gaze her eyes widen as her father's hand went up to his face preparing to activate the cage bird seal. _He's going to hurt Neji_. In an instant Hinata turned around as a strike was heading towards her with an intention to hurt her. With her right hand she held onto neji's left hand, twisted around and flipped Neji over her shoulder landing with a resounding thud. Hinata crouched beside Neji and stared down at him with pleading eyes. Neji was about to speak but froze when he looked into Hinata eyes, they pleaded him to stay put , her fingers dig into his shoulder preventing him from moving. His eyes darted over to Hiashi, what he saw was his uncle preparing to activate his seal."Do not move." Her eyes pierced his and he couldn't help but do as she says.

"That will be enough for today" Hiashi proclaimed.

Standing up Hinata looked at her cousin one last time, she was going to offer her hand to him but she knew she would be pushing the limits too far, so she nodded to him and left the dojo, her feet taking off into the distance as soon as she put on her coat and shoes back on. She had to get away from everything, sweat ran down her face and neck but wind cooled her down just perfectly, the snow beneath her crunched with every step she took. _I shouldn't have done that._ Closing her eyes, and fisting her hands she sped up, going somewhere secluded. Her knees fell on the soft snow, the wind swayed her hair to the side and the sweat was gone. _Uncle what am I supposed to do?_ Her small Hands touched the cold headstone with her uncle's name engraved on it. Could she really do it? Could she really fix things? She asked herself over and over again as things progressed. Hinata stayed in the same position for quite some time, the urge to go home to spend time with her mother made her move to get up. She stopped suddenly feeling a presence right behind her.

"Hinata."

" Hello Itachi."

" Why are you here, alone?"

" I had to get away."

Hinata turned around, taking in Itachi, he had bags under his eyes, his low pony tail was looser than normal and looked like he had a terrible secret keeping him on edge. " I heard rumors being whispered in the clan." With soft steps Hinata took hold of Itachi's hand and lead him into the woods. " When Toneri attacked, I found this place where everything around you drifted off and left only peaceful feeling. It's as if you could forget about the war and all the hardships." Deep in the forest was a small clearing , pine trees surrounded it like a dome, a small river stood to the right with a small hill on the left with a big boulder in the middle.

" When springs begins its cycle, this place comes alive even more so in the summer.

Hinata guided Itachi to the rock and sat him down she took a seat beside him with her knees up and hands around them.

" Tell me what happened."

" I think it's beginning, like I said it's just rumors but from what you told me it's gets bigger."

" I intend to stop it" Hinata said.

"How?"

" With yours and Shisui's help, where is he?."

" He's in a mission...What can we do?" Itachi looked over at Hinata, she was deep in thought. " I-I don't know yet, but we will come up with something."

"Hm, Sasuke , how is he in the future?"

" Do you really want to know?"

Itachi pondered for a second, he responded with a yes. Hinata nodded and went straight into the answer without hesitating.

" After yo- the clan massacre, Sasuke was filled with hatred. His purpose was to kill you and he would do anything to achieve that...there was a point he wanted to destroy the hidden leaf.

" Kill me, I caused him a lot of pain, that's understandable."

"No, not it's not. You caused him to turn into something he never wanted to turn into...one time he told me it would have been better if you had just killed him. Death was better for him.."

Itachi listened to her words, taking all the information and making something out of it, his little brother wanted death, he noticed that the decisions he took further hurt his brother, he was the one causing his pain.

"You're not hurting him right now, not yet. From the memories, you had no time to actually plan anything else, you have two years to make that up...we can do it." Hinata looked up at Itachi, at the same time he looked down at her, they both nodded accepting they both had to try anything and everything to achieve their goal. "I have to go, tell Shisui what we talked about." With that said Hinata stood up dusted her clothes and looked towards the road that would take her home." i'll see you another time Itachi."

A boy with short blond spiky ran past the bustling crowd in the marketplace, he was filled with so much happiness he completely blocked out all the stares that were thrown his way. his breathing was laboured but he still kept at it, he wanted to get to the training ground at the time promised by Hinata. Naruto skidded to a stop at arriving at the designated training area, he happily looked around with a smile, while he looked for his friend. his smile slowly faded and his happiness was turning into a cold feeling. _They are the same as the rest...i'm a fool._ Feeling outcasted all over again by two people he thought as friends, he turned around his blue eyes filled with tears.

"Naruto!" Naruto looked up and saw both Sasuke and Hinata running towards him with their hands waving in the air.

"Nar..uto..sorry we are late, i got held back by Eiji, were you waiting long?" Hinata said out of breath, Sasuke then asked," apologies for making you wait.."

Naruto laughed then wiped his eyes with his sleeve."Alright then, let's train. The feeling Naruto was feeling earlier was replaced by immense happiness all over again. _They came._ Naruto's day was filled with laughter and it was a whole new experience for him, for once in his life he felt accepted and would he dare think it,,,loved. That same night Naruto slept blissfully with a smile on his face. Content with the fact he had friends.

Two Months Later; March 27th,

The snow had melted, usually the weather in Konoha changed pretty quickly, all around the fields buds of flowers were seen growing. The sun warmed everyone in the village, but to a certain girl not even the flowers or the smell of spring could stop Hinata from feeling dread, sadness and loss. As the months passed Hinata took every opportunity to be with her mother, her father had stopped her from sparring with Neji, in a way she was glad she wasn't ready to face him once again, she had other things to worry about. Hinata made sure to tell her mother that she loved her, spend every waking second in her company, pressing flowers and enjoying the gardens together. Her father would make an appearance and join them. It was the happiest she had ever been, her family was whole in a very long time. She was sure her mother was happy.

" Eiji?

" Yes?"

" Are you and Ko really brothers?"

" He told you we were didn't he."

" Yes. "

" You wondered why I had the seal, correct?"

"Mhm."

" We're actually really close friends but we saw each other as brothers since we first met. So since then he calls me brother." Hinata pondered for a second, clearly Eiji was older and his features were different than Ko's. While Ko had short dark hair Eiji was the opposite with long dark straight hair that came down to his shoulders. He had his hidden leaf protector on his forehead hiding the curse seal, strands of loose hair fell on the sides of his face and his face gave off an older feel. Eiji was probably twenty five years her senior and Ko was younger than Eiji. Hinata knew she felt a really bad vibe radiating from him when she first met him, but that soon changed, it was milder and less threatening, he changed very quickly it kind of confused her. No one could change that quickly..could they? Overall Hinata was happy, she was happy for having someone there with her even if they didn't know her secrets, he went from being a threatening force to someone who could give safety. She was happy with Eiji. Soon her thoughts wandered to her mother where surely by now she would be in labor. She didn't want to be there, but at the same time wanted to, she wanted to say her goodbyes, and see her little sister be born. With a decision made Hinata said bye to her Uncle's grave and followed Eiji back to the compound. Too focused on her issues, Hinata failed to detect threat currently in the process of surrounding her and Eiji.

Eiji stood in place as he watched his little heiress walk in front of him, he followed right behind her. Eiji was on edge, he hid it well but deep inside he was bothered. Approximately a week ago he was in a meeting with some of the branch members that held utter hatred towards the main house. He wished he had tried more to avoid the the plan that would take place today. Eyeing Hinata one more time he activated his bloodline limit, just a few feet behind him a group of five people approach their way, up ahead another three figures stood waiting. _I can't do this_ , _forgive me._ Eiji sprung into action as a simple kunai whizzed past Hinata, he got in front of her as soon as possible, his byakugan still activated. Hinata's head shot up at hearing the kunai impale the ground, immediately she reeled her mind back and paid attention to all her senses.

" Don't move, stay beside me!"

"Whats going on?" Hinata asked. Eiji gave no reply, he stood ready to fight whoever came close to any of them. He regretted ever agreeing to the plan, he regretted everything, now being a branch member his sole purpose at the moment was to protect not only his heiress but a person he looked as a friend, someone who opened his eyes and made him see the errors of his ways. _Forgive me…_ KO, he prayed he had things under control in the compound. Eiji made sure Hinata was okay, he turned back around seeing as the group in front of them neared them, one in particular broke off and approached Eiji and Hinata, a rogue ninja from kumogakure. Hinata's eyes widen seeing the headband the ninja had. Thick shaggy hair feel behind him ending at his ankles, his eye were dark with a scar running from the left eye across his nose and stopping at the right corner of his mouth. His olive skin shined just a tad bit from the rays of the sun.

"You know, when I was contracted by Hyuga to do this job I was very surprised. I thought I wasn't going to have another chance to steal the Byakugan of not just any Hyuga but the heiress and her sisters." His black eyes roamed Hinata, Eiji scooted closer to her and blocked the man's view.

"Hand her over, just like we agreed." Eiji's heart stopped hearing Hinata gasp in surprise, he dare not look at her but that failed since his byakugan was active and saw the emotions flicker on her innocent face. _Forgive me._ Eiji took out two kunais in each hand and got ready to fight. " . .her." Hinata twitched at hearing Eiji's voice sound so threatening, she could see sweat run down his neck and his hands tremble as he held the weapons.

The Rogue ninja glared daggers at Eiji, he nodded his head to the side, the group behind Ejij and Hinata sprinted their way, all five of them attacked at once, Eiji had to react quickly, he turned around and scooped Hinata into his arms and made a run for it. He could hear and see as both groups made a run for them, he had about a two minute head start. In his arms he felt as Hinata's body shook hear small sobs coming from her, on instinct he brought her body closer to his in an effort to protect her. Tears streamed down Hinata's face, she was sad and utterly betrayed. _Not you Eiji, not you._ Hinata said over and over again,

"Im sorry, Im sorry" Eiji replied to her words. Hinata had said all that out loud like always. Shurikens and senbons barely missed them as they flew threw the air. Up ahead near a clearing, Eiji managed to create five clones and ordering them to stay back and fight, he needed a bit more time. From the way the trees looked beside him he knew they were getting closer to the compound, and he knew exactly what he had to do. A few more steps, Eiji stopped and place Hinata on the sprouting grass.

"I'm sorry, in about four minutes the rogue ninja will be coming our way, I need you to run that way and not turn back okay." Eiji stood up and turned his back to her armed with weapons.

"Eiji, what are you going to do?"

" Fix my mistakes, now run."

"Eiji, please come with me, w-we have time,P-Please!"

"No, we won't be able to outrun them, I'm staying back to give you time." Hinata took a few steps and wrapped her arms around Eiji's legs and squeezed hard, tears fell onto the soil. "Dont go."

Eiji sighed, without looking back he said in his most threatening voice he could muster and told her to leave. Instead of Hinata staying and helping out Eiji fight, she ran as fast as her short legs allowed her too. Her child like mind took over Hinata's thoughts making feel like a child and making her feel so useless. Her heart told her to turn back and help but she was clouded with terror at being targeting for her eyes, like in the future. She activated her Byakugan again and could see as Eiji stood fighting, blocking anybody from going after her, she also saw as how blood stained his clothes, his blood. Up ahead Hinata saw the entrance to her compound, she ran until her lungs burned and legs could no longer run, she didn't even notice there were no guards stationed at the front entrance. Hinata turned a corner and bumped into someone, she fell on the ground and looked up to see who it was, Neji greeted her sight. impulsively she got up and held Neji with dear life, Neji stood stock still not know on how to react. She was sobbing and trying to coherently make words to explain to Neji what was going on.

"Hinata" A voice of a man made Hinata look up and there stood her Ko, his clothes covered in blood. _._ Hinata let go of Neji and walked to Ko's side, his eyes were filled with heartbreak and sadness, Hinata's heart skipped a beat and dread filled her to the core. _Mom!_ She sped past Ko and ran into the main house, branch family members were littered outside her mother's room, some of them tried stopping her but she moved out of their hands. Sliding the open what she saw killed her inside, her father held onto a pink bundle, _Hanabi_ , close to his chest. In front of him was a body covered by a blanket from head to toe, on the very far corner by a open window was a man lying on the floor dead with blood pooling under him. Hinata found herself right by the body, her fingers pulled back the sheet and her mother's gentle sleeping face was unveiled.

 _Mother!_ Hinata's face scrunched up and she cried like never before, she cried like he night she found her mother alive, the day she was happy since dealing with all the things from the future. Screams filled the small room as Hinata was picked off the floor, she kicked and screamed repeating the same verse over and over again," You weren't supposed to die, you had another week left, you had more time.!" The pain Hinata felt was indescribable the best way she could say was that, something had ripped away a very important part of her, she wasn't whole anymore. Deep inside Hinata could feel a tingling feeling all over her body, the wind picked up and it began surrounding her, the branch member was thrown out of the way as well others that were close to her. Feeling freed, Hinata laid beside her father and held her mother's cold hand. She refused to move. Later that night, Hiashi Hyuga was informed that a group of branch members orchestrated the abduction of Hinata and the killing of Hanabi which resulted in Hinata's mother sacrificing her life for her daughter. The group in question were found and would be handled accordingly to their rules until the next day in the afternoon after the funeral held for Hinata's mother.. Hiashi had a scouting party sent out to look for Eiji, only thing they found were the dead bodies of kumogakure rogue ninja.

Later that night;

Hinata walked into her bedroom intending to get her pillow and head back to her sister room and stay with her, but a figure stood hidden by the night. She was about to scream scared it was the rogue ninja coming for her but stopped at hearing the figure call out.

"Miss, it's me."

"Eiji!" Hinata ran, her eyes took in what the moonlight could light up on his face. His headband was torn and his seal was visible, he had deep cuts all over his face and his lips were bloodied.

"Eiji we need to get you help!" Hinata made to grab his arm but he collapsed on his knees, the headband slid off his face onto the wooden floor with a thud. "EIJI!" Hinata kneeled infront of him trying to see where he was wounded, his whole clothes were caked with blood and it made it hard for her to distinguish."Eiji please, get up!" Eiji frowned, he was very very confused, he wasn't sure if it was because he got hit in head or if he was hearing things correctly, he raised his hand and blindly looked for his little heiress, once he felt the top of her head he left it there to rest for a bit.

"You should hate me".

"What?"

" I was part of it...I was supposed to hand you to them."

"But you didn't-Eiji please get up!" Hinata said as she tried pulling on his hand that was on top of her head

"Why are you so forgiving...you know I hated you- I hated the main family, I was so fueled with hate a group of branch members and myself made a plan," Eiji coughed but continued," You were supposed to be kidnapped and obviously killed, we believed that with the heiress gone, Neji would become clan head but that changed when your mother got pregnant...now on this day both you and your sister were to be taken away."

"but..something changed,didn't it? Hinata asked.

"Yes...you changed my mind, a main family member was polite with me and I was cold and bitter towards you...you made me see the good in things..you were the good. I-I'm sorry" Eiji's eyes were downcast, Hinata was sure he was looking at her but they were too low from where she actually stood. _You're blind._ with gentle fingers she touched Eiji's eyes he inturn closed them with a sigh. The hand that was on Hinata head slowly slid off , Eiji's body tipped to the side with a small smile on his face. Eiji was on the floor giving out his last breath. "EIJI! Hinata's scream was heard all over the compound.

Author's Note: Hey guys, Hoped you enjoyed this chapter, I literally just finished this chapter last night. Hope I gave you guys enough answers for now...Anyways, I'll be seeing you guys on the next update. Ciao


	7. Chapter 7 The Hyuga Promise

Chapter Seven

The Hyuga Promise

The next day;

The funeral for the Hyuga matriarch was being held, the clouds overhead were grey as if a storm would soon be upon the village. All the Hyuga were present, the Main family stood to one side while the Branch stood opposite of them, in the middle were to closed caskets. One was of Hinata's mother and the one next to it was Eiji's. The Main family didn't mask their piercing glares directed to the Branch members, Neji would occasionally rival the Main's glare by throwing them his own. Neji wanted no part of what was going on, he was a bit shocked at the events that unfolded just a night ago,, he really believed the Branch family had nothing to do with the death of Hinata's mothers, it was probably another ploy created by the Main family, just like with his father. It was just a way of hiding the Mains corruption and another way of controlling the branch family by taking away the little power they held. For that he detested them even more, a little part of him was saddened about the death but that was it, there wasn't anything deeper than that. What mostly confused Neji was that if the Main wanted to throw the guilt towards the Branch, why would they give Eiji a burial fit for a Main family member? The hate he was filled with overruled his thinking. Everyone turned around at the sound of shuffling feet nearing the two caskets. Hiashi with Hanabi in his arms and Hinata to his side walked down to the aisle nearing the caskets. In Hinata's hands was a basket filled with different types of pressed flowers, she carefully took them out and placed them on top of the casket, where her mother laid resting. _, Hinata,_ Neji couldn't help but think of her, he couldn't shake the memory of her hugging him and weeping in his arms., it haunted him to no end. Watching her confused him even more, he was surprised that she shed no tears, knowing her he could've sworn she would be a sobbing mess. Neji knew if his curiosity continued like it was there wouldn't be anyway of stopping it. After a while standing there contemplating, Hinata gave a last goodbye to her mother, she was able to say goodbye to her mother since she lived without her for most of her life. it wasn't like she felt nothing, it was just easier to part from her. Walking over to the next casket with a different basket in hand she placed white pressed tulips around the border of the casket and on top of it as well. Placing her right hand on the casket she then closed her eyes. "I forgive you." She would miss Eiji, he wasn't just her guard, he was more than that, he was her friend, he was someone who saw the wrong he was doing and tried fixing it, to Hinata that was what counted. He was like a brother to her apart from Neji. Letting the wind calm her down she took a quick breath before turning around and addressing her family. The family that was supposed to be together not separated by a mere seal. _I will fix this._

"Eiji's favorite flower was the white tulip, at the beginning I was wondering why that flower, but now I understand: it means forgiveness. I forgave him, that was all he wanted. I know i'm just a child and many of you might think I'm naive, but this is what I feel in my heart." Hinata said while she place her hand to her heart and looked at her family with a small smile. Every single Hyuga stared in shock at the little five year old, many from the Branch let out a smile and the Main had confused expression.. Hiashi looked at his daughter with renewed faith, this is what his wife had been talking about, the clan needed a heir that was both gentle yet strong, it was something he tried doing but he didn't have what his daughter had, she had a gentle heart yet she was strong enough to speak to the families. He looked up at the sky and thanked his wife. " I hope that someday both Branch and Main family will be united as one, that is my goal...it's my Hyuga promise!." There was a gasp coming from everyone in attendance, Hinata knew the consequences of the promise she just made: the Hyuga promise was something that should not be taken lightly, there had only been five clan leaders that made that promise and none of them actually kept it, it was sort of a curse on itself. And now a five year old Heiress made that promise, promise she probably had no idea of its consequence. It was binding. With her head held high Hinata nodded to all her family before giving a last goodbye to two people she adored. As she walked by the aisle the breeze carried pink flower petals down at the funeral proceedings like rain. It would be a day no Hyuga would forget.

The Trial

Four branch Members stood in front of the Hyuga clan head and the Hyuga elders, Hinata sat beside them, since her father wanted her to learn everything about the Hyuga affairs she had to be present, and for that she was glad she needed to know what exactly happened. The four figures had their curse seal visible for all to see, they were bound to their chairs by a secret Hyuga technique. " As the head of clan I will be seeing to your trial, what was your motive?" Hiashi Ordered, they all spoke at once, Eiji's name came out from their mouths accusing him of thinking about the plan and seeing it through. Hinata wanted to stand up for Ejij and stop them from tainting his name any further, but she cooled her temper and heard what they had to say. Hiashi lifter his hand up ready to activate the seal, in that instant they all shut their mouths. Hinata never actually witnessed her father using the curse as means of interrogating. "Motive."

"You should have captured us when you received the information from that traitor!" The man to the very far left shouted, his hair was unkempt and he had a crazy look in his eyes, he would repeatedly glance at Hinata every chance he got. "Neji, would be the better successor of the Hyuga, you can't deny it. Not that weakling you created" He spat. Hiashi activated the seal and the man screamed, he tried raising his hands to his head but failed due to the binding, After the deactivation the man slumped forward with his head down. The other three spoke quickly seeing what would happen to them, Hinata blocked them out and only thought on one thing. _Information? what does that mean?_

"You want to know don't you." The man from earlier spoke. Hinata looked up locking her gaze with the man. " You want to know why your father didn't do anything, why he didn't deal with us when he received the news about your kidnapping! HUH!?" _He knew?_ Slowly Hinata turned to her father, he looked at her with sad eyes that showed what she needed to know.

"Why did you do nothing?"

"We couldn't, we have rules..we needed to catch them red handed, without them actually doing something there was nothing we could intrusted Eiji to diffuse the situation after he asked Ko for help but that didn't work."

"No..No it didnt. Good thing the rogue ninja got him real good. He deserved it." Standing up Hinata turned to the council, " If you would excuse me I have seen and been through a lot today, I have much to learn but right now I believe I'm not focused properly. Her father Nodded giving her permission to leave. Walking out into the night Hinata ran as far away from the screams coming from the trial room.

Running from the compound through a secret passage way she knew about she headed to nowhere, it was too much for her at the moment, there was no way she could handle thing at the moment. All she wanted to do was make all of it stop, stop from thinking, stop from being there. Up ahead were three figures two were clearly older and the third was was younger, she ran to them for some sort of comfort. "S-Shisui!" she screamed, the three figures turned around seeing Hinata running to them, Shisui and Itachi quickly noticed tears trailing down her face. Shisui crouched and hugged the body that slammed into his. He cooed the young girl to calm down, he knew of what happened to her mother and to Eiji, she probably needed someone. Sasuke seeing his distressed friend walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Hinata looked over and more tears appeared. "why would you do this to me why send me back?!" she was too tired too pay attention to what she was saying, Sasuke only looked at his brother and Shisui to see if they knew what she was talking about. "I'm sorry?" Hinata gave a sad smile before exhaustion took over her, she fell asleep in Shisui's arms."Let's take her home."

That night, memories plagued her, Itachi stood clad in his anbu uniform kneeling in front of the village elders, the Hokage and Danzo. This time she wasn't there watching the conversation playing out in the sidelines, she was Itachi in some way, she saw what he saw and felt what he felt. The conversation revolved around the Uchiha and the coup, about the annihilation of the clan including the blood of the children. It was madness, all the things they spoke of, the children as if they were not even human but insects ready to kill. Instead of speaking out and trying to change the plan Itachi just laid unmoving like a statue, didn't he see the wrong in everything they were saying? Hinata desperately tried moving , to put a stop to everything. _Why won't you fight?_ Blood would forever be ingrained into Hinata's mind, seeing herself as Itachi and in cold blood murder innocent children, killing off all the members of the Uchiha made her sick to her stomach but what disgusted her the most was that some deep part of her she was enjoying it. She woke up with a scream ready to let out, she muffled it with her pillow and laid awake looking out into the night sky, she was sweating and her body shook at the memories. The moon illuminated her room, it was odd thinking that Toneri was up there living in the moon thinking of destroying the world, such a beautiful thing but filled with hatred at the same time. _Guess everything has to have a good and bad side._ Hinata was too scared to go to sleep so she just looked up at the moon, hoping it would calm her down. The very next day she was excused from school, which helped her find out what happened to the four Hyuga, her father condemned them to death, the Hokage was informed about the issue before anything was done. The Hokage had not much to say about the matter since it was a clan matter and not village wise, he understood. Thinking bout this she wondered if these events happened the same way? Eiji, he probably died when Hinata was younger, that was why she never heard of him, the reason Ko never spoke about him. In some way everything made sense. Sasuke had visited her after school, he wanted to check up on her and make sure she was fine and for that Hinata was happy, she managed to slip away with Sasuke and Itachi to meet up with Naruto. Being with her two friend lifted her spirits up, they knew what to do to make her happy. Itachi was around for most of the time, she noticed how he wanted to talk to her but she avoided him, being around him brought back the memories. Sooner or later she would have to speak to him about the memory she had, but now was not the time for that. Soon.

 **Author's Note** : Hey guys, I had writer's block this week but I managed to get this chappie out. I feel like I didn't do my best on this one. But I hope you enjoyed it. See you guys on the next update.


	8. Chapter 8 Missing

Chapter Eight

Missing

" You're avoiding me, why?" Letting out a gasp Hinata looked to her side, Itachi stood beside her with his arms across his chest and eyes boring into hers. She glanced at him but walked ahead ignoring his question. It had been three days since she's seen him or even talked to him. Hinata concluded that Itachi knew something was up. She felt bad for acting the way she was, it was childish and she was supposed to be mature than who she was at the moment. She stopped and swirled around facing Itachi. His hand were at his sides and his expression was so calm it made Hinata rethink her decision. she vaguely remembered Sasuke would look at her that way and it sent goosebumps down her spine. " I want to apologize, I had a memory and it had to do with you." Eyes down casted she continued, " I didn't like what I saw and I-I-"

" what did you see."

Hinata looked around and saw the students enter the academy, the bell would ring soon. " It was a meeting...come to the playground at lunchtime, I'll see you there." Itachi nodded and watched as Hinata walked inside the building, lost in his thoughts he felt Shisui presence beside him,"Tell me what she says, I have another mission today." In a flicker Shisui disappeared and as did Itachi. Apparently everyone seemed to know what happened at the Hyuuga compound, well not everything. Her classmates would give her a sad look which made Hinata sigh. It seemed like Naruto and Sasuke were the only ones not throwing her those looks. " Hinata over here!" Naruto waved exasperatedly and pointing to the chair in between himself and Sasuke. Smiling she headed to her seat, when she sat down both boys hugged her warming her from the inside out. "G-guys!" Hinata exclaimed as her whole face turned red.

Lectures passed by quickly and Hinata was getting nervous as the time neared for lunch to start. the only thing she did was look out the window, watching as the tree branches swayed side to side to the rhythm of the wind. Sasuke picked up on her actions thinking she was stressed out about her mother, so he wrote a note and passed it to Naruto when Hinata wasn't looking. Naruto opened it and looked at Sasuke and nodded to him. The bell rang and Iruka dismissed the classroom for their lunch break. " Hinata. uhm... Naruto and I are going to uh..-

" To the ramen shop- but it's for boys only, but well convince the owner to let you in tomorrow!"

"Oh.. Okay that sounds fine. I'll be in our usual spot if you need me. " The three children followed the line of student outside, Sasuke and Naruto waved goodbye as they headed to the ramen shop. Hinata took out her lunch and sat under a tree away from everyone, she took out her bento and munched on some rice. Itachi appeared out of nowhere and sat beside her with his own meal in hand.

" You have to trust me with these things, you know."

" I know it's just-

" I understand, what happened?"

" I was you in a way, usually I would be able to see all the interaction from far away but this time I was you." Playing with her food Hinata managed to put some more in her mouth but it tasted bitter so she just left it alone. "It was a meeting between the elders, there was Danzo and the Hokage was present as well. They were talking about the Uchiha massacre." Glancing over at Itachi she saw his hands clench into fists, " You didn't do anything. You just stood there letting Danzo and the elders talk about killing everyone, I tried moving, to do something, to fight but I just stood frozen." Placing her lunch to the side she shut her eyes and pulled her knees up to her chest. " Next thing I knew I was killing children and families, and some weird way I was enjoying it...seeing you reminded me of the memories."

" That's why you ignored me- I understand I would need time to to sort things out."

" Thank you."

"Why?"

"For listening." Hinata said. Itachi stood up giving Hinata a nod and walked away without uttering any more words. _He needs time like I did_. Sitting under the shade of the tree and too immersed in her thoughts Hinata looked down when she felt weight on her lap. A small white puppy stared up at her, his tail wagging in excitement. Eyes widening and breath leaving her Hinata could not help but a scoop up the puppy and hug him. Lately she's been crying too much, thing was she couldn't help it everything was too emotional. " How I missed you!." Akamaru barked in reply and snuggled closer to her and licked her face in the process. "Akamaru!" A boy with brown spiky hair and two red upside triangles on either side of his cheeks came running out of a shrub with his nose twitching. As soon as he smelled Akamaru he headed to where Hinata and Akamaru were sitting. Stopping to catch his breath he pointed at Akamaru " I have been looking do you!" He said in between breaths. Hinata looked down at Akamaru and furrowed her eyebrows at him " You're running away from him again."

" Come on boy let's go." Akamaru stayed put.

"Kiba right?" Hinata said diffusing the argument between boy and puppy.

"Huh, yeah. You must be Hinata."

" Yes. I like your puppy, he's very cute."

" Ugh see what you've done now Akamaru. She thinks you're cute!" Kiba let out an exasperated sigh, Akamaru only barked. Letting out a giggle Hinata stood up with Akamaru in her arms and handed him over to Kiba. Both of them looked up when they heard Iruka's voice calling out to the students that lunch was over. Picking up her food she and Kiba walked back to the school chatting away about anything and everything. It felt familiar and comforting to Hinata, walking beside her old teammate but there was something missing. Shino. Behind her two boys launched themselves at her making her tip forward, arms flailing she grabbed onto kiba's sweater which made him fall with her. Sasuke and Naruto burst out laughing, Hinata gave them a half hearted glare before joining them, Kiba joined in soon after with Akamaru barking.

Time jump; One year and three months.

The Uchiha stormed down every alley every street and every corner trying to find any clues about the missing children. Up in the Hokage tower an argument was brewing between the head clan of the Uchiha, Fugaku and the council. " I need more scouts, I don't have enough to do a widespread search!"

" We understand your concern, the children are every bit as part of the village but we have been going on for months and nothing. "

"Get the trackers-

" You know we've done that already." The elder woman said.

"Let them go ,the Uchiha children are probably dead by now." Danzo so freely said without batting an eye, Fugaku checked his temper before it flared too much. Behind the head clan stood about ten members of the clan who openly sneered at the council. The Hokage said nothing, he took a good look at the Uchiha present and at the council. He knew what Danzo was saying could be true, the children could be dead but they were leaf village citizens. Understanding both sides was very crucial, if he did nothing the Uchiha would be even more angrier and the rift that was between them would only increase.

" I will give you two more months, I will try to find you the best tracker and there's someone who already volunteered." Hiruzen said, with a nod of his head the door opened revealing Hiashi Hyuga, with an air of importance he stepped up beside the Uchiha, he was followed by members of his clan.

" Fugaku." Hiashi said in greetings, he faced him, " If my clan was in your position I would do anything to get back the children, if I may, I would offer my services to help you find your family. "

" Why?"

"We're practically neighbors our children have played together and because your son Itachi took my daughter to the hospital when she fainted. I cannot thank you enough. If any of those kids posses the sharingan it would be of importance to get them back. The secret of the sharingan cannot be known to outsiders." Fugaku stared at his old friend, even if he was too prideful he would not let it get in the way of help. Hiashi had a point his clan wasn't as crazy about keeping the sharingan locked away by a seal like the Hyuuga but he understood the importance about his bloodline limit. Offering his hand to Hiashi he took it, their hands locked around each other's arms. Danzo clenched his hands in irritation, it was almost perfect he was so close to getting what he wanted and Hiashi had to walk in and ruin everything. Whoever was taking those children were probably using them for their own benefit. And he wanted them continue their kidnapping and better yet for them to get interested in the Hyuga as well. Both the Uchiha and Hyuuga bloodline limit was magnificent in their own right. He wanted them. No matter he would find a way to retrieve them, sooner or later. For the meantime he would wait it out like always.

"Hey did you hear! Our families are working together!" Sasuke burst out excitedly, Hinata glanced at him and smiled.

" Yes, my father told me about it. I hope with the help they will be able to find the children." Sasuke slumped, his head forward. " Yeah, I knew them. I was going to introduce them to you but then they were taken away."

" Don't worry Sasuke. They will turn up." Hinata doubted that. She just hoped they were fine and taken care of. After they went missing the Uchiha rounded their shinobi and scouted the area, since they were the police force of the village they had to investigate the ordeal. She knew her family tried helping in anyway they could but not even with their all seeing eye could they find anything. Approximately they had about half a month left, but that didn't mean they would stop, it only meant they had less resources.

" Yeah! Come on, we have training again!" A figure with blond hair and blue eyes sped past them making them run after him.

Down by the training grounds in the bright summer morning, Iruka's class were partnered off to an older more experienced classmate from another class. The idea was to teach the slightly more advanced class the meaning of teamwork and help the younger ones learn new things. As usual Hinata was partnered with Neji. Neji wondered if it was some sort of joke, was destiny trying to tell him that he would never escape the Main family, that he would forever be bound to them as a lowly branch member? but, then again he wanted it...he liked the idea of a challenge.

"Actually, Hinata you're going to be partnered off with Lee. This way" As Iruka guided Hinata to her new partner she mentally sighed glad she was going to be pretty far from Neji."Here we are, Lee this is Hinata."

"You must be Hinata! Nice to meet you!" He was taller than her, he had distinctly bushy eyebrows, his hair was parted in the middle and falling on his back was a long braid. Hinata beamed, she had missed his boisterous personality it wasn't in any way annoying. To say the least.

"Hello, nice to meet you too."

"Come, I must show you the ways of the ninja!" Moving away from the others they settled a few feet away but still in sight of their teachers, Lee got into his taijutsu form and Hinata got into her gentle fist." Show me what you have learned." Purposely Hinata hid her true poweress she didn't like the attention much so she kept it at a low. For several minutes they sparred both of them avoiding hits, once in awhile she would let Lee hit her. Knowing Lee for a very long time she was very much impressed at his fighting style, she knew he was a gifted taijutsu fighter but even at his age he was great, every move he threw was perfect he only needed a little correction here and there. Overall she liked sparring with him it was actually a first for her. With her child body Hinata quickly tired out, _I need to practice more._ "You cannot be done already! you have so much to learn!" Lee explained getting back into position, Hinata nervously smiled, _Even at this age you were so energized,_ Hinata thought.

"Im sorry, its just you I don't have your energy."

"Flower blossom, you just haven't reached your potential yet! Know wha? Neji is my rival, and I just decided that you will also be my rival" Lee said pointing a finger at her.

"Rival? what about a friend?" Lee's hand slowly descended and his expression changed into one of confusion.'friend' he mouthed "You want to be my friend?"Hinata replied with a yes, she had no time to react so she let the two arms circle around her in a tight hug. "Oh flower blossom I would love to be your friend!" Lee said loudly that everyone stopped their sparring and just stared at them, Hinata turned red at the attention. Eventually he let go of her and Lee taught her the things she would be learning in the future, he would even go as far as to give her some pointers. But things weren't as happy as it seemed, Lunch came and Lee and Hinata were getting their lunch, Hinata decided to introduce Lee to Sasuke and Naruto. Now she was just waiting for him to get his food that his father prepared him, two boys casually walked by Lee and "accidentally" bumped into him making him spill all the contents of his food, the only thing the boys said was 'oops' and went on their way muddling their laughter. . Lee's shining eyes dimmed at their action, he dropped to the ground and picked up the food and placed it back on the tray. Unbelievable, turning around about to go after those rude children she was stopped, Hinata looked up and saw lee shake his head 'no', she opened her mouth but yet again he shook his head in no. Defeated she led Lee to the tree Sasuke and Naruto were waiting and surprisingly Kiba and Akamaru as well, getting an idea Hinata ran ahead of Lee and told her friends what happened with the two boys and to Lee's food. Lee arrived, his tray was snatched from him and thrown into the garbage can. Kiba returned with a clean tray and handed it to Naruto, using his chopsticks he place some of his hot ramen into the container. And so on each child place a part of their meal on Lee's tray. Lee stared amazed at the variety of food and he couldn't help but shed a few tears, no one ever had done something like that before, for him specifically. Rubbing his eyes with his hand he sat down beside his new friends and contently ate, his energy slowly returning and that shining in his eyes reviving. To Hinata, as long as everyone she cherished was happy she was happy.

There were no clouds that night, down by the deepest part of the woods a hooded figure stepped out from a hidden passageway and neared two figures, their faces obscured by the darkness."You trust this person?"

"Yes."

"Very well, then I trust your judgment."

"We deliver another one tonight, they saw nothing but still keep your guard up and hide any traces." The hooded figure nodded not saying a word. The taller figure stepped up presumingly a male, and handed over a child wrapped around a blanket to keep warm.

"Another Uchiha I see." The hooded person said, pulling the child close to their chest they turned around disappearing into the passageway that was invisible at once.

"You don't trust me" It wasn't a question it was a statement.

"Like I said I trust you."

Without any other words spoken between them they both headed back to their own lives, until the next one had to be delivered.

Approximately twenty children have been missing, just last night there was a break in at the Uchiha compound, even with a the Hyuga helping guard they could not even see the intruders. It is said that whoever is the culprit is knowledgeable with the Hyuga weaknesses as well as the Uchiha. The Uchiha as of now have not said anything about the incident and The Hokage will have a meeting with the council about the matter. With another child missing , the question everyone's asking, is the village safe? After they Uchiha children gone will the kidnappers go after other clans? Could it be that the person responsible is an Uchiha?

Itachi crumpled the newspaper he received, he stood up and walked inside the compound when he heard his father call for him. Voices drifted to his ears and his heart thumped in dread.

"Can you believe this, we are being shunned by our village-

"No one wants our business an-

"we're losing what little we have!"

"They won't help with the search-

"After the blame of the kyuubi attack, Now this."

"We are being thrown to the side more than before Fugaku!"

" Madara would not have accepted this!"

"QUIET! Fugaku ordered. Itachi could only watch in dread as his father's next words escaped his lips."A coupe."

 **Author's Note** : Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter as I did. This will be setting up many things, especially with the events of the massacre! Wondering who's been kidnapping the children? Who's the mysterious hooded person? And what will Itachi do? You'll find out soon. Thank you for sticking around, until next update!


	9. Chapter 9 Surprises

Chapter Nine

Surprises

Choji Akimichi blocked out the roaring voices of the kids nearby opting to hear only the sounds of the plastic bag ripping open and spilling out his favorite snack. Munching on the delicacy that was his chips he hungrily ate enjoying his mini snack break. Still, the buzzing of the voices irked him again, Shikamaru wasn't there with him that day, he preferred having a solitude day watching the clouds. Choji respected that but he really wished his friend was there, Ino had stopped hanging around them choosing to be with Sakura. Everyday he dealt with the bullying and he was slowly getting tired of it. Passing his gaze over the four kids making fun of him he looked beyond and watched how Kiba, his dog, Hinata, Sasuke and even Naruto , played together leaving behind their worries.

" Hey, aren't you listening. We're talking to you!" One of the three boys slapped the bag of chips from Choji's hand, that was all it took for Choji to get up and tower over the three boys and girl. No one threw his chips away and got away with it.

"Hey! I don't like it when people gang up on others! Just because he's alone doesn't mean he wants you to bother him!"

" Why don't you- uh..." The boy who slapped Choji's chips away turned around and stammered, behind him stood Naruto, Hinata , Sasuke and Kiba and Akamaru; all of them glaring at him and Akamaru barking and growling at the them. They said no more before running away like the cowards they were. Hinata picked up Choji's bags of chips and handed him what was left of it. Choji dumbfounded took them without taking his eyes off of the group that just helped him out. It was crazy to think that in some way they had heard his mental pleas for help. " Do you want to join us ?"Hinata asked.

" Bushy brows is coming too, he's going to teach us some things!" Naruto said.

" What do you say?" Kiba added with Akamaru barking. Choji didn't think it twice he nodded, he let himself be guided by the group enjoying the warm feeling that spread through him.

Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows, everything was weird in some way, one way or another the group of friends would always find a way to go to the people who seem to be having a hard time or most likely the people who are being treated wrong. They would always be there but the person who would notice the trouble the person was going through would be his fellow classmate, Hinata, he mentally stored her name for another time. Right now it was too troublesome to think about her and her group of friends, he had other pressing matters to attend- like cloud watching. Choji would be fine he mused.

The walk to the Hyuga compound was slow and bitter, Hinata could only think about Eiji and the conversations they would have, Ko, was there but it wasn't the same, yes she's had Ko for most of her life since she could remember but it was different like everything else. She was kind of mad at herself for not talking to Ko, she was happy he tried talking to her but she couldn't, not yet even if it had been more than months since Eiji's departure. "Miss, your father" Ko spoke out, Hinata closed her eyes, _No, Don't say it like him_. Opening them again she looked up. In front of the Hyuga gates was her father with Hanabi in his arms, she knew his father would take any opportunity to hold her sister, Hanabi had her mother's eyes. Often times she found herself in her sister's room just staring at her or taking care of her when she could. Her father's expression was the same as always, hard lines and eyes and always a frown in place but in that moment she saw no warmth in them his eyes like before.

"Follow me." Hiashi handed Hanabi to her caretaker as Hinata followed behind him racking her brain for any possible explanation as to why he wanted to talk to her, training was until later. So far it had been going great, she's been able to spar longer than before and she's been able to build up her chakra reserves. After walking through corridors they arrived at her father's study room, he closed the door behind them and told her to take a seat. He took the seat opposite of her with his arms across his chest.

"There have been some pressing matters that I would like to talk to you about."

Hinata said nothing letting her father continue. " I have been hearing rumors about you, have you been hanging with the Uzumaki boy?" Mind going blank Hinata understood where the conversation was headed to, _he found ou_ t, she had planned this, the moment she would have to talk to her father about Naruto. Although she did wonder why he never brought up the subject, she figured he had learned about her friendship with Naruto a long time ago, so why now? Hinata was glad she had planned ahead, if not she knew she would have to fight for Naruto's friendship. " You know I don't like hearing rumors about the Hyuga clan, I would ignore them but rumors about my daughter is something I cannot ignore. Now tell me are you friends with that boy?"

"Yes." Hinata said.

Hiashi expression changed even more so than before, his frown deepened and his eyes stared at her with judgement in them.

"You will end that friendship."

"No." Hiashi was taken aback, he knew his daughter had changed drastically and it was something he was getting used to but that was just something very out of character, his own daughter was challenging him.

"Hinata!"

"No. I'm sorry father but I will not end it, he is a very precious person to me."

"Why?"

"Why?, because he suffers and I want to make things better for him, he lost so many things- I-I just- it's not his fault, he wasn't the cause of the attack, he saved us…"

" what do you know about him and the attack?"

" Every one talks about it when Naruto walks by, I hear everything and it makes me sad that people would do that to him. He is not at fault. if he was such a dangerous person why is he still here in the village?!" Hinata was very passionate about her speech to her father, she didn't even notice the tears running down her cheeks, she wanted to protect her friend when he had no way of defending himself. She was tired of everyone and their hatred, she sometimes wondered how Naruto protected them, the village, when all they did was hurt him and treat him poorly, they were the cause of his pain.

"Very well, you are dismissed." Hinata openly stared at her father, confused he didn't say yes nor he said no and that was something her father never did. After his daughter left Hiashi couldn't help but let out a little laugh and smile, she really would change things- for the better he hoped. Hiashi was in some extent happy that his daughter changed him without him even noticing, if she would change him she would have the strength to change many things.

At the training grounds on a saturday was a group of children hidden behind trees and bushes, the summer that day was hot but not enough to stop the friends from doing something they had been planning for a while now. They all kept quiet and still awaiting for the signal so they could come out and surprise Sasuke. His birthday had arrived and they teamed up to make a surprise party, in about three minutes Shisui and Sasuke would be arriving now they were just waiting for Itachi's signal. Choji softly muched on his chips, Kiba had Akamaru hidden in his coat, even though it was hot. Naruto and Hinata peeked behind the tree observing, Lee was currently diffusing his energy with some push ups. Itachi gave the signal, the friends jumped out at once and yelled 'surprise', Sasuke was genuinely surprised. He sprinted to his friends and embraced each one of them, they all took out presents and gave them to him. For a second there Sasuke thought that maybe just maybe his friends had forgotten his birthday. Guess he was wrong. As the children played and had a friendly spar, Itachi and Shisui were in the sidelines preoccupied with their own demons. Talk about the coupe was getting more and more fuel as time went on, and with the missing children many of the Uchiha were treated differently. According to Shisui he was asked by the clan to keep an eye on the higher up and on the Hokage. The plan would soon be taking place and it worried Itachi, he was having second thoughts about everything. He needed to talk to Hinata. When the group of friends dispersed to their own home Shisui took Sasuke to the Uchiha compound and Itachi volunteered to take Hinata back home.

"I have concerns."

"Don't we all?"

"Yes, but this is different, the plan…"

"You're having second thoughts aren't you?" It wasn't a question it was statement, it was getting easier and easier to read Itachi he had the same expression as Sasuke's from time to time.

" To tell you the truth I am too, but we will make it work." They stayed silent as they walked down the dirt road, each in their own thoughts, Hinata rubbed her forehead for comfort.

"Why do you do that?" Shishi flickered out of nowhere, he looked at Hinata's forehead. She removed her hand and contemplated if she should tell them or not. She went with the first choice." In the future, many of the Hyuga were targeted for their eyes, I was paranoid they would go after me, hunters, so I created a seal for the main family. Everytime I feel scared I trace over the seal," Hinata said pulling up her bangs and showing them her clear forehead, "The person who helped me create it was a very powerful person, he died that same day too."

"Hunters?"

"Yes, Toneri offered a place amongst him, where they would be part of the new world. He asked for the Byakugan, we were hunted down and killed off if we refused. The branch family was killed off, without them the main would be vulnerable so I made the seal but I was too late to save many."

"I'm sorry." Shisui said.

"It's okay, it hasn't happened yet, I'm prepared. Thank you for getting me home."

All three said their goodbyes before leaving. In the remaining months Hinata and her friends celebrated each other's birthdays. Each and every one of them were emotional about the whole thing, they felt that they were special and to Hinata that meant a lot . But, like always the happiness Hinata felt always ended with something worse than before, and she wasn't prepared to what was going to happen next- she was going to be blind sided to a very high degree.

A year later;

Her breathing was so shallow she barely looked alive, death caressed her oh so gently lulling her to sleep to embrace the darkness that was edging her to surrender. Yet, she did not, it would have been the best option. But, she had things to finish, things she started when she was sent back. It was her duty to finish it, to make it to the end. _I failed,_ heavy hands fell her pale face, stopping the incoming tears from escaping. A sob etched their way past her throat and out her dry lips. _I'm sorry Sasuke. I'm sorry._ Red liquid pooled underneath her, soaking her clothes and the grass. _I managed to put up a fight at least._ Hinata was sprawled on field of flowers, her hair was matted with blood and sweat and grime covered her face. She turned her face towards the direction of the Uchiha compound and jerked when she heard screams coming from there, the screams pulled at her heartstrings, she wanted embrace the darkness be one with it. But the screams jolted her back to the present, slowly and in pain Hinata turned to her side then on her stomach. Her arms dragged forward, nails and fingers clutching the grass and pulling herself forward. _I have to stop him!_ Continuing she desperately clawed, every second new screams erupted and that only filled her to keep going. Stop, she mouthed. With little strength she had her muscles managed to lift her up on her fours, limbs shaking she put on foot up and the the other and stood up. She swayed but caught herself on a nearby tree. Her lungs burned with every breath, and the blood would not stop flowing.

" Hinata, darling. Come, we must go."

" Mother?" Her back was to the tree holding her in an upright position across from her stood her mother, she was beautiful; Blue black hair framed her pale complexion her eyes gleamed with warmth and her hand was outstretched welcoming Hinata to take it. Hinata desperately wanted to take it, to make it all go away.

"Miss! Do not take her hand!"

Blinking Hinata looked to her hand and noticed her hand was reaching for something, she then looked to her side. There he was, Eiji, stopping Hinata from succumbing to her wounds and stopping her from accepting death. Last thing Hinata heard was the screams of her friend, Sasuke, before she blacked out.

 **Author's Note** : Hey guys, I'm sorry for always leaving you guys in a cliffhanger, but I must. Hoped you enjoyed this chapter! the next chapter will explain what exactly happened to Hinata! If may feel that I'm rushing things but I have reasons as to why I'm doing that. Soon. I will be seeing you guys on the next update. Adios.


	10. Chapter 10 Betrayal?

**Chapter Ten**

 **Betrayal?**

It was like another day, training with her father, hanging out with her friends and even having time to visit the graves of her loved ones. This day in particular would determine the outcome of a very important event. Hinata had been getting nervous as the days and months went on, Itachi and Shisui's visits became less and less. They were too occupied with clan business than usual. She had and idea on what it pertained to, the coup, the Uchiha started showing their feeling regarding the way they were being treated. It became harder for Hinata to be with Sasuke, since the whole thing with missing kids, they were implied that they were behind the whole things, which wasn't true. why was the village so judgemental? Why did they always have to blame everything on the Uchiha? It was like seeing they way Naruto was treated but in a differently level, this was a whole clan to be precise. Shaking her head Hinata just enjoyed the day, devoiding her mind from over thinking on things. On a slight thought, Hinata was pretty confused, the wood fence that surrounded the academy wasn't painted, well it wasn't painted by Naruto. She was certain there was a drawing of The Hokage there made by Naruto, actually she's never seen Naruto pick up a brush or even go and draw on the previous Hokages faces. Guess Naruto was getting the attention he so rightfully deserved, his friends.

"We have been planning this for over a year, we have tweaked it more than once. We should just go with this one, no more changing it. "

" I agree, we've had enough time. Only thing we have to do is follow it." Shisui added. The trio had gathered two months prior to the day they would enact their plan upon the Uchiha. Right now they were going over it to see if they had missed anything and change it according to the information they have received. And it had been a lot. Itachi stood quiet like a statue, like always, his hair was in his usual pony tail but slightly longer, his knox eyes were closed off than usual, Hinata was unable to pick up anything in his eyes nor his body posture. _He's getting good at hiding._ Shisui's unruly hair was actually pretty kempt, he was the opposite of Itachi he actually showed his emotions at times but he hid them too. The small river splashed into the rocks below it, the sun touched the branches of the tree bathing them in a richer brown, the trio were in Hinata's special place, where they were their meeting was taking place. " It's going to be hard to pull this off." Brows furrowed, Itachi turned to Hinata and gave her pointed looked, Hinata replied back, " I never said it would be easy, I know it will be difficult but…"

"She's right, we both know it would be hard, but we still agreed...for the clan." Shisui said then looked across from him to Hinata, " Itachi won't show it but he's nervous about the whole thing,"

"I know, I could tell." And she really could, who wouldn't be? She used to do that and she still did, it was the best way to hide all her emotions and Itachi was using it in order to feel better about things. "Alright, let's go over the plan one more time," seeing as the two Uchiha nod she continued, " Since we cannot wait for the peace treaty to be made , we have to dissolve the idea of a coup, if we wait too long it will only lead to future events" Hinata pointed her finger on the map of the village.

"With the information I have gathered, my father will be having a clan meeting with all those involved with the idea of taking over." Itachi added while pointing at the map where the Uchiha were located, raising his eyes he nodded to Shisui. Shisui with his finger moved about the map until he settled on a different point. " I will be here concealed by the forest surrounding the compound. After Hinata sends me the signal I will be with Itachi and talk to fugaku-

"If he doesn't agree to abort the coup, Shisui will use kotoamatsukami on him" Itachi intervened. Hinata was proud of the way everything was being set up, it was better than not having anything. they just hoped it would go as they wanted it. Hinata was very impressed about the Kotoamatsukami, she knew most of the techniques the sharingan possessed but, the kotoamatsukami was pretty impressive and to be able to to see it in action, that is if it is even used. " I will be in a completely different area, right here," Hinata said pointing at the map which was closer to the meeting place., "I will be close to the building awaiting your signal, if something doesn't go to plan- well you know what we have to do." Shisui took the map in his hands and folded it before lighting the map on fire. "There, no more evidence." He said winking and smirking.

"I suggest to meet up one week and one day prior to go over everything." Hinata said while she gathered a basket filled with fresh flowers.

"And go with about our usual day." Shisui said.

"If there are any concerns we will be in contact." Itachi added.

"Agreed." The three said at the same time, Hinata walked up to Shisui, wrapped her arms around his middle and embraced him. She wanted to show him her gratitude, for helping her. "Thank you so much...Shisui." Shisui embraced her back, they let go and Hinata walked to Itachi and did the same, surprisingly he hugged her back. "Both of you...thank you." With one more smile they all headed their separate ways, preparing themselves mentally and physically.

The months were a blur to all three of them, they tried occupying their minds with missions, with friends- anything they could find. The pressure was too much, they felt as if everything around them; the troubles, the planning, the pressure would swallow them up, stripping them from their sanity. yet, they let it not completely take over them, they needed their sanity to succeed. On the bright side Hinata's group of friends had grown, Shikamaru and Shino made it through. it was around a month later since Choji became part of the group that Shikamaru found himself joining them, more like Choji made him. He kept to himself most of the time but he did enjoy their company, he could see genuine happiness. In an odd way he felt it too. Hinata could often times could sense his eyes on her, but everytime she would turn to his direction his eyes would be elsewhere. His gaze in no way felt odd or weird it just felt familiar, it felt like it was the older Shikamaru looking at her and not his younger self, somewhere in there was the Shikamaru she grew up and sooner than later he would unravel her secret. She would wait for that day, all she had to do was not give him any reasons to make him think of her any other way than what she showed. Shino on the other hand kind of found Hinata instead of the other way around. It was the middle of fall and the trees were already losing their leaves, like most days it wasn't too cold or too hot, it was just right. She was walking back to the Hyuga compound when a kid her age randomly came up to her and just stared at her. At first Hinata had no idea what to do, bit later she relaxed in his presence waiting patiently for him to do something. His pale hand went up to her hair , his fingers caressing her hair until he took his hand back out, " This was in your hair." Shino said holding out a bug on his index finger. 'Oh, well thank you for taking it out." With his glasses on and sweater in place she had no idea what his reaction to her was, he finally spoke out, "You were not scared."

"No. why?" Hinata tilted her head to the side confused "Should I be?"

"Never mind that." Shino replied, he turned around and started to walk away. Not wanting to see her friend leave Hinata called out "Wait!" He stopped and turned back a bit, Hinata took that as a sign and ran up to him. "Thank you for waiting, I'm Hinata Hyuga, nice to meet you."

"Shino Aburame," He said after a while.

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of insect is that?"  
There was a pregnant pause, Hinata waited for Shino, to see if he would follow with the conversation. _Please say something_! Hinata let out a sigh when Shino spoke out, his voice held surprised yet he continued telling her about the insect, in reality Hinata already knew about it but she wanted to hear shino's voice. She would ask him questions and he would reply, it was the best day, it actually helped her forget about certain things, for the meantime she would enjoy her teammates presence.

Shisui was asked by The Hokage to keep a close on the Uchiha more specifically on the clan head and its heir. From the looks of it The Hokage was picking up on the actions from the Uchiha, he didn't blame him, he figured his clan would be subtle about their feelings but it comes to show they were already tired of hiding. All he could do was do what The Hokage ordered, he couldn't down right tell him about anything, not yet. He had to speak to the others before any decisions were made, he would speak to Itachi first then with Hinata. He took a deep breath and went on with his day, like any day it was normal except for the small glares here and there. Now her knew how the Uzumaki kid felt like. The Uchiha compound felt so desolate, there was no sense of warmth anywhere, it felt like everyone was waiting for something to happen. So was he. A movement caught Shisui eyes, it was Itachi, he was storming out of this home. Everything Shisui noticed about Itachi was fine but if looked closer at anybody would be able to see that there definitely was something wrong, Itachi only spared one glance at him, that was all it took for Shisui too follow him. In a flicker Shisui was beside his long time friend, he said nothing deciding it would be best for his friend to speak when he was ready, "We have to stop it! It's getting out of control!" On the exterior Itachi looked calm but on the inside he was a raging storm ready to let loose. "We don't have enough time, if we-

"Hey! calm down, what happened?"

"Not here"

Minutes later, the two friend were by the edge of the cliff overlooking the waterfall, by that time Itachi had somewhat calmed down but there was still tension written in his face. "Today, my father asked for my presence at a meeting. I believed it pertained to clan responsibilities but I was wrong. He spoke to me about the coup," Itachi sat down , his legs dangling off the edge, Shisui followed his actions. " He want s the Hyuga to join the coup, with two great families and bloodline limits, he figured there would be no one who would go against them.

"But the Hyuga are loyal to the village, why?" Shisui questioned.

"I'm not sure, if he convinces the Hyuga, there is not stopping it." Itachi said while he looked at his best friend.

"I understand, we have to speak to Hinata, we have two weeks left before the meeting."

Getting up they immediately set out to find her, by the time they reached her night had fallen. Hinata was able to get sneak out, upon seeing them Hinata knew something had happened. Both Uchiha told her everything from the Hokage's orders and what Itachi was told by his father. "My family?" It was hard for Hinata to handle all of the information, she willed herself to stay concentrated, she told herself she was ninja and she had to handle any type of news, yet she still questioned things. _Why? Everything is changing_. She wondered if the Uchiha had been planning on recruiting the Hyuga before the time travel, or was it because she was changing things, this was definitely the butterfly effect. "Things have been changing. We have to do everything and anything to stop this.!"

The Day; at exactly 10 pm, Fugaku lead his clan elders, his heir, Itachi and the rest whom were part of planning the coup. They had made sure that they had not been seen or tracked by any guards. They walked quietly and stealthy through the forest, not saying a word until arrival. Once they arrived Fugaku placed some traps around the perimeter insuring that he knew if any body was near, this only complicated things, Hinata was forced to stay away from the perimeter unless she wanted to turn on the triggers. Up above the trees Shisui was crouched by a tree branch, he could see everything that was happening below him, he saw Itachi give him a nodded before disappearing inside the building. Inside Itachi stood beside his father,with the elders on either side of them, the clan members were in front of them taking their seat. His father spoke out," As you are aware, the Uchiha name has been rapidly going down the drain, we have been pushed to the outskirts of the village for something we had no part of. Since the nine tails attack we have been blamed for everything , Madara would have not accepted this type of treatment, as i will not!" The voices of the members filled the room each expressing their own concerns and wishes. Fugaku held his hand up silencing everyone then speaking again, outside the perimeters Hinata used her Byakugan to see inside, although she could not hear a thing she was able to depict what was going on, Itachi's chakra pattern was on edge while the others were erratic, This isn't good.

In a blink of an eye feathers appeared in front of Hinata, _the signal_ , she took out a kunai and sent it drifting through the air until it hit its marker, Shisui saw the kunai and flickered out of view. All Hinata could do was use her blood line and hope for the best. All whom were in attendance dropped like flies, all the voices ceased, Fugaku eyes widen in shock activating his sharingan and stopping mid sentence. The clan leader looked to his son in an effort to find out what was going on, Itachi just stood there emotionless without giving any type of reaction. Something was wrong. In a flicker Shisui stood in front of Fugaku armed with a kunai ready to strike if he had any reason to. "Shisui? What are you doing? what did you do?"

"Sir, you have to let this go." Confusion was written on Fugaku face but then recognition soon dawned on him, "The coup, you want to me stop it." The Uchiha clan head guessed. He had his reason to believe that this was what they were referring to, from his guess they have been against the whole thing since the very beginning.

"Do as he says father." Whirling around Fugaku stared at his son's eyes that held the mangekyou sharingan, his eyes light up like saucers, "The Mangekyou. How?" Then looked back at Shisui. "I've never been more disappointed in my life, to think that my own son and best friend working together to stop something that would benefit the clan." The air around them felt thick, any sudden movements would only lead to a confrontation. The clan leader raised his arms and crossed them across his chest, Itachi just watched his every move aware that his father was not only a high ranking ninja but a clan leader, someone not to be messed with." We come with the intention to speak to you about it, to stop it." Shisui replied.

"Even if you get me to forget about it, it won't guarantee that all these here before us will forget about it. The seed has been planted."

"By stopping you we could change things."

"That will only make the others question why I changed my mind, they would find out who did it."

"Why the Hyuga? they won't come to you, they are loyal to the village" Itachi said changing the topic. Fugaku smiked, he looked at Itachi and answered him back, "Their daughter has been seen with the vessel of the kyuubi and befriending Sasuke and yourself, don't you think the villagers will see a pattern? Our name has gone to the dirt they will think that the Hyuga , Uchiha have formed an alliance to use the uzumaki child and release the nine tailed fox on the village! That rumor has been floating for a while now." Fugaku finished, feeling a sense of dominance.

"You're right...even if we manage to dissuade you it won't change anything. Nothing will change set points in time...I'm sorry for what I'm about to do." Itachi turned to the direction where Hinata was. "I…hope that someday-someday you forgive me, father." with one movement the katana Itachi had behind his back was out and it sliced across Fugakus neck, decapitating him.

 **Author's Note** : Hey guys, yep I love ending these chapters in cliffhangers! I'm sorry. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, you guys may have soo many questions, especially since I didn't mention anything about Hinata and her dying from the last chapter. but I promise you they will be answered on the next one. There will be many things happening. Just bear with me! Hope you enjoyed it Adios.


	11. Chapter 11 One on One

**Chapter Eleven**

 **One on One**

"What the hell!" Shisui stared in horror at his best friend ,the head and body of Fugaku laid on the floor in a crumbled mess, blood pooling out of his wound. Three seconds later a pop resounded in the small room and instead of Fugaku's corpse was a tree bark in its place. " A fake as I thought. We need to get going."

"NO!" Shisui pointed his weapons towards Itachi, his eye ablaze with anger, "Explain." Itachi calmly turned to his friend and began explaining, " What he said was true, even if we manage to change his mind it doesn't mean the others will. That is why I did what I did. We-"

"Wait." Shisui said shaking his head. Red eyes down casted he tried to comprehend what his long time friend was saying. There was something more, realization soon hit him, his head went up in surprise. "You're going after the clan after this aren't you!?"

"Yes."

"WHY? We had a plan, Hinata had a plan... it was supposed to work! That is why she was sent back!" Shisui shouted, knowing what Itachi was planing on doing broke his heart. What was the purpose of planning when it wasn't even going to be carried out. "Why didn't you say something, why didn't you tell me!" By now Shisui held his weapons in a tight grip never swaying from his stance. "I wanted to, but would you have understood me?"

"You assumed I wouldn't...you took that away from me. I had my doubts too!"

Itachi opened his mouth, "I have to do this, you know it to be true."

"I Do." Shisui's eyes glanced towards the general direction in which Hinata was located, any second now she would be there with them questioning everything. With sad eyes he accepted Itachi's decision. That still helped in no way, he was still shaken by the idea of his clan's murder, what was there to do? One way or another it had to happen. Accepting it only made it more real.

"Shisui, you know what to do." And he did, the young Uchiha dropped his hands and looked once more at his friend with a defeated look. He nodded to him hoping he was doing the right thing. Hinata busted through the door her eyes frantically looking at both Uchiha, that instant Shisui flickered out. Hinata was able catch a glimpse of the way Shisui's eyes held sadness and acceptance.

Once Shisui flickered out he ran as fast as his legs could carry him, he jumped through the trees, mind occupied with only one destination, the Hokage. The Uchiha kept his mind at bay, assuring it never went to other thoughts, he focused on the speech he was about to give to The Hokage. It took him about ten minutes before the building loomed over him, the heads of the past kages staring at him with anger. He avoided their gaze and proceeded ahead. It was dark and the Kage would probably be asleep but that didn't stop him from opening the door and entering. Sarutobi stood tall looking over the Village with his hands clasped behind him, he slowly turned around and regarded the young man before him. His old eyes held so much wisdom but also a tint harden steel in them. He noticed how Shisui's chest rose up and down frantically trying to fill out his lungs, his Sharingan was activated but he felt no threat coming from him. If the Young man was there meant that something was wrong. The Hokage beckoned Shisui whom strode in front of him and got on one knee then looked up at his leader. " A Coup, Itachi plans to massacre the clan." Sarutobi was taken aback, never in all his life was he presented with such news. A coup, and from the Uchiha, he expected many things from them but that was a whole new level. He had to take into account that he had some part of their reasoning to act the way they were. He knew he could've tried harder to negotiate with Fugaku, to stop a coup from forming. Now, Shisui was there telling him everything instead of stopping Itachi.

"By the time you got here he probably already murdered all of them."

"Yes..I understand that. I don't plan to stop it."

"Then why are you here?" Sarutobi looked down at the Uchiha, waiting patiently for an explanation, he wasn't disappointed. Behind them, an undetected figure stood few feet away watching the whole exchange.

The Hyuga heiress ignored the bodies that were sprawled on the floor and observed Itachi. While she was outside she watched as Itachi killed his father and how he disappeared. Her feet had sprinted to the building hoping to get some answers but all she got were more questions. Now, Hinata could only make her own assumptions, Itachi looked over at her not batting an eye. He seemed relaxed. White eyes looked into red ones, all she saw was one answer and it scared her. She knew if she said anything it would not make him change his mind, clearly he had made his decision and he wouldn't change it any time soon. A feeling of dread filled her when his gaze was on her, it was abnormal it was something she would not want to feel ever again. Hinata spoke no words as she slowly took small steps backwards out the door, Itachi made no move of attacking her. Finally reaching the door Hinata sprinted out not looking behind her, the adrenaline coursed through her veins, she had to get away. Everything around her was a blur, she had no concept of where she was going. Lungs burning she continued her pace, pushing her legs forward with as much speed as she could gather but something made her stop. Hinata abruptly halted her feet sliding on the dirt and changed her direction, the Uchiha compound. Panting she hurried, she activated her Byakugan- Itachi was nowhere to be seen. Slowing down and Blood limit off she turned around facing the distance. She would wait for him, she would fight him, she would stop him. A child, that was all she was at the moment, a child who looked fragile a child who didn't know what she was getting herself into, but she wasn't just any child. She was Hinata Hyuga, a girl- no a woman trapped in the body of her younger self, a woman , a ninja who battled many wars. As young as she looked she would not run away she would fight for all she planned. Itachi had his reasons to do what he was going to do. There was no judgement there, he was put in a tough position. He was right she concluded, he was right for what he was going to do, but she didn't want to believe there was nothing she could do. I have to try.

"You should just give up." With trembling limbs Shisui stood up the got into a stance again. "Never." He spat. Danzo took this as an offence, he moved his head and Root member attacked Shisui, he fell to the ground breathless and clutching his stomach. After he had left the Hokage tower he planned on finding Itachi but on his way there he was ambushed by Danzo and his Root members, he easily counterattack each and every move. Shisui almost escaped, he had a slight idea what Danzo wanted from him and he wasn't planning on sticking around. Although he managed to flicker away he was still easily tracked down, so he decided it would be best to just fight. Here he was being defeated."You can't win, give up." Danzo strode to the fallen Uchiha, he motioned his Root members to stay put. Looking down at Shisui he crouched down to his eye level, his rough hands took hold his chin making him look up, that moment Shisui's Sharingan activated, he stopped every single person from moving. He let out a sigh seeing none of them move and inch, he scurried back away from Danzo's grasp. All too soon Danzo was a top of Shisui removing one of his eyes, Shisui made no sounds of pain just barely flickering away before danzo could take his other eye from him. He held his hand over wounded eye, blood streaming down his cheeks and asking himself how Danzo snapped out of his trance. he could have sworn there was no way for him to get out, Danzo lifted his bandages off his eye and removed something before placing Shisui's eyeball in his own socket. A small ball fell on the grass it looked like an eye ball with the sharingan clearly visible, soon the Sharingan disappeared. _Izanagi. He used it and still managed to get my eye._ With his eye covered Shisui with little chakra left flicked once more and ran off into the trees, hoping to get as far away as possible. _Itachi was right. Set points in time._ There was no way around those. One way or another it was bound to happen, even if he had avoided Danzo to begin with it was still going to happen some other way. _Itachi._ He thought. Shisui wasn't worried about him what worried him was Hinata, how was she taking everything?

Hinata stood a few feet away from Itachi, whom wore his anbu uniform which was splattered with fresh blood, including his katana which rested in his hand. _where did everything go wrong?_ Adrenaline pumped through the young girl's blood stream, she could feel it take effect, seize her whole body preparing her for flight or fight. Fighting was her only option and it was something she refused to even go to. Going from a standing position she soon moved to her Hyuga stance. "I won't let you go any further." Her voice shook slightly but she kept her posture confident. Itachi's hand clenched the handle of the katana harder, his eyes shined bright red, the moon giving him a glow. He moved not an inch, he just observed the girl he came to trust, to know. "You should move."

"No, it doesn't have to come to this-"

"It does and I know deep down you know that to be true." Around Hinata's eyes veins appeared, her pupiless eyes looked more illuminated than before. Like the moon. "As you wish." In a split second Itachi stood behind Hinata his katana placed underneath her chin, the blade barely touching her skin. Itachi's voice ghosted over her skin, goosebumps appearing. " I won't hesitate."

"Nor I" Hinata voiced, with her hands she quickly formed a sign and disappeared. Byakugan activated she appeared behind Itachi with a kunai in hand aiming it at his body. In an instant Hinata was thrown to the other side, twisting her body she landed on her feet, rushing forward She threw shurikens at Itachi, he easily dodged them. With her bloodline active she could pinpoint every single one of his chakra points, when she was in close range she immediately started firing off her fingers into those points, The Sharingan quickly read every movement but the Byakugan easily avoided any hits from Itachi. Both suffered wounds from each attacker, they were great fighters but that didn't stop them from receiving blows. Itachi rose his katana in the air ready to strike hinata but she saw it coming so she used her chakra and expelled it out of her body as she turned in a circle. The gush of wind threw Itachi to the other side. Hinata fell to the ground in pain, her eyesight blurry, she blinked back the tears and could make out a shape coming towards her. Hinata regretted using that technique, her body wasn't ready for such chakra usage, she wasn't ready. _I'm too weak._ The sound of Itachi's feet alerted her that he wasn't too far from her. Hinata could feel the tears run down, her eyes brows knitted in sadness and she let out a sob. "It wasn't enough...It still going to happen." Her cries were heard in the silent night.

"It's not your fault...You did all that you could."

"I'm sorry. I failed you."

"No, you saved the children, they will be in capable hands, I trust you." Near Hinata, Itachi placed his katana on his back holister and looked at the broken child before him.

"You trust me with them after all of this?"

"Yes. Now..I must ask your forgiveness."

"Why-" A scream tore out of her mouth, the katana was impaled in her chest, the metal gleaming. Blood oozed out in a rapid rate, the blade was taken out in one fluid motion. Hinata fell backwards, her blood pooling around her. " Don't hurt Sasuke..don't torture him with Genjutsu, please. At least let me feel like I succeeded in something." Her voice cracked, she felt her eyes start closing, feel her body lose its warmth. Itachi kneeled and cradled Hinata's head in his arms, his lips touched her forehead in a goodbye then set her down and proceeded to the Uchiha compound where he found his father awaiting for him, his mother beside him, with teary eyes he killed them- his father put up no fight accepting his death. He was soon joined by Madara who hid his face behind a mask, both set out to kill every single member of his family. He waited for his brother to come home, as promised he left Sasuke alone but he still put him through some bit of torture, he wanted to be hated and by doing that to his little brother would help. Shisui found Hinata's body close to the Uchiha compound she was speaking but nor words actually formed. Upon closer inspection he could he her eyes were glazed over, "Genjutsu." He quickly ran over to her before she fell."Eiji, is that you?" Hinata said.

"You put her in a Genjutsu!"

"She was too weak to notice." Itachi appeared before Shisui with Sasuke in his arms.

"She looks like she's dying. Take her out of it." Shisui ordered, the young girl's face even out into a smooth calm expression after Itachi stopped it,"I couldn't afford her coming after me, it was easy to put her into one."

Without saying anymore both Uchiha set out near the forest the was close to the Hyuga compound and set both children beside each other by a tree. Looking at each other once more they both went their separate ways. They each had their own paths to take.

 **Author's Note** : Hey guys, hope this answered a few things while at the same time made you have questions, all in due time. Hoped you enjoyed it,I'm not good at fight scenes but I tried. btw I was worried this chapter might not have been updated since I've been pretty busy lately. oh and thank you for the lovely review 'ILiana' Until the next update. adios.


	12. Chapter 12 After

**Chapter twelve**

 **After**

It felt like being cradled back in forth in a hammock, lightweight and no sense of time or place. It felt nice, it felt secure, the one feeling anyone yearns for. That was exactly how Hinata felt that moment, the dream-nightmares were ever so present reminding her that her safe haven was not as secure as she felt. The sound of voices woke Hinata up from her slumber, all her sense flooded her in an instant. She kept her eyes closed and ears open ready to listen to any information.

" We found them near the Hyuga grounds." It sounded like her father, unconsciously her small fingers wrapped around her father clothes.

" How's the Uchiha child?" Another said. _Sasuke?_

"Out cold, we're taking them back to the compound."

"But his brother wa-"

"It's and order!" Hiashi commanded. The Hyuga member could only follow. As much as Hinata wanted to hear more, to know what happened but she couldn't, sleep took over her sending her back to a timeless slumber. Hiashi stared down at his daughter, her chest rising up with each breath she took. He noticed how she leaned into him ,see her hand snaked around the fabric of his clothes. The head of the Hyuga clan held his daughter closer to his person, relishing in the feel of having his daughter safe and sound in his arms. He still couldn't shake the feeling that took over to him when he told about the Uchiha massacre. Without a second thought he rushed to his daughter's bed chambers only to find his oldest was nowhere to be found. That's when he remembered his oldest was with Sasuke at the Uchiha compound. He thought the worst. Hiashi frowned, he knew there was something going on with his friend, Fugaku, a while back he started acting strange and instead of listening to his senses he didn't. Now, with Hinata in his arms he could rest and thank that his daughter was alive and well, On other thoughts he wondered what would be of the last Uchiha?

A scream erupted out of Hinata, her hands scrambled to take off her blanket and layers of clothing trying to reach her chest. All the young girl could do was stare in confusion as she looked and touched her pale skin, there was no wound no blade sticking out. Nothing. Panicking she began hyperventilating, feel the walls close in, shaking Hinata ran to her door and slid it open running out into the dark corridors. Her feet padded down the wooden floor, running to who knows where. She came to a stop when she bumped into a body and fell backwards. Something about it seemed familiar. With little light from the moon Hinata made out a shape then slowly her eyesight sharpened and the figure turned out to be Sasuke. "Sasuke..." Her arms reached out and wrapped themselves around the younger boy's body. _You're alive._ she chanted mentally, the shaking had not stopped it only increased. Meanwhile Sasuke just stood still not bothering to hug Hinata back. His eyes held nothing, no emotion, just utter emptiness. But inside he was a mess, a broken child who was tortured immensely by his own brother. He could still see how his brother murdered in front of him, showed him images of things he will never unsee or forget. Hinata pulled back noticing no reaction from her friend, his face was emotionless and his eyes were glazed over. "Sasuke look at me! you're not there, it's not real." Hinata said while she placed her hands on either side of his face, eyebrows knitted in worry. Hinata thought she saw a slight movement coming from his eyes but it soon disappeared, _No._ Knowing she was still weak Hinata managed to activate her byakugan, it only lasted a few seconds but it was enough for her to see his chakra network was damaged. Using her fingers Hinata expelled chakra off and directed them to where the damage was held. Sensing Sasuke come back to reality she smiled at him, he looked around confused asking himself where he was. He then looked down at the girl who barely held him, _Hinata._

"You came back." Her arms dropped to her sides, she was so so tired, she could feel the effects of her using that technique, the last time she used it was on Ino and that was with Sakura's help.

"Hey? Are you okay?"

"Hm...yes, I j-just need to rest...don't move." Sasuke was confused but then realized what Hinata was doing, she positioned herself so she could rest her head on his lap and fell asleep instantly. Sasuke had no time to ponder on anything, he stiffened when he heard footsteps behind him, he didn't want to turn around afraid who it could be, afraid it was Itachi. Staring ahead he could only watch out of the corner of his eyes a figure step beside him then turn and stand right infront of him. Hiashi Hyuga stood above him, he crouched so he could be on Sasuke's eye level. Sasuke could not say anything, he was too shocked , seeing Hiashi in front of him made him nervous and confused, _How did I end up in the Hyuuga compound?_ , he managed to ask himself. Hiashi spared one glance at the young boy before his eyes took in his daughter's form. She had her head resting on Sasuke's lap, her eyes were closed and by the look of it she would be out cold for a while. Hiashi began questioning some things, things he saw not too long ago. _Where did you learn that technique?_ It was something he had never seen before, not even some of the hidden Hyuga scrolls contained such complex Jutsu's. He figured his daughter had something up her sleeve, his right hand reached for her daughter he couldn't help but notice how the young Uchiha flinched at his proximity. He continued either way, his hand rested on Hinata's head, his fingers gliding through her dark tresses that were just like her mother's.

"Now that you are awake, you'll will be remaining with us until the Hokage deems otherwise." Hiashi waited for no reply he gathered his daughter into his arms, stood up and motioned for the boy to follow him. Sasuke hesitantly got up, he wasn't too sure if he wanted to follow him but he could only think that if he went he wouldn't be surrounded by his thoughts. Thoughts that would surely plague him to no end, plus Hiashi wouldnt do anything right? On the other side his young mind just wanted to rest, to be protected so he followed Hiashi to a room where he finally was able to rest but his nightmares would not leave him be.

A Week Later;

"Shh! you're going to wake them up!"

"Choji stop munching so hard."

"Sorry, can't help it"

"Ugh...I could be cloud watching by now."

the voices soon quieted down, Hinata stirred and awoke with a jolt. Right beside her was Akamaru with his tongue sticking out licking her cheek. Unfortunately it immediately stopped, Hinata gently pushed him away and smiled down at the dog. Her smile grew wider upon seeing the faces of her friends all bundled up to her bed trying to get a look at her. "Oi, Hinata she's awake!" Lee Shouted . He got a glare from Kiba telling him to quiet down which Lee followed but still couldn't contain his excitement. "Flower blossom! you're awake!" Lee said in a less softer tone but excitement still visible.

"Hi Lee." Hinata managed to reply over the voices of her friends.

"How are you feeling?" Kiba asked.

"I'm okay…' Hinata looked at her friends faces, every single one held concern and sadness in their eyes."Where's Sasuke? Is he okay?" Vaguely the young Hyuga was able to recall the past few days events. Itachi, the massacre... _What happened?_

"He's at the hospital...he suffered mental damage, they are checking him over." Shino replied in his low tone of voice. _Mental damage?_ No, it couldn't be, he suffered through the genjutsu he was placed under, Hinata concluded. What Hinata could not shake was that Itachi still hurt Sasuke after she told him not too. She wondered if the technique she used on him helped at all? she hoped that that in some way it helped him, that he would not become the vengeful person he would be in the future. But, she knew in some way or another that would not happen, he would be that person she came to know in her time, in her future.

Naruto looked at his first friend and decided to let her know about the Uchiha."Hinata, you should know something...Sasuke's whole clan was slaughtered by his brother."

 _So, it did happen._

That day Hinata found out that she had been asleep for almost a week and that Sasuke had wanted no visitors, not even his friends. It was hard, Sasuke decisions affected everyone, they wanted to be beside him to help him, but he refused. Naruto especially was getting tired and annoyed, Hinata was able to tell by the way Naruto twitched every time at the mention of Sasuke name. From the look in his eyes he was planning something and she was getting excited to know what it was. Sooner or later Sasuke would give in and she would be there to help him cope. The villagers gossiped, the name of the Uchiha were in there mouths the whole time, especially Itachi's and Sasuke's. Every day there was a new story on what exactly happened, at time they were to unrealistic while others were just blown out of proportion. She shook her head every time, so, instead of hearing different tales she decided to take time to be with her little sister. Hinata loved to be with her sibling, the last time she saw her sister was when she was taken away from her, she was too young. Protecting her would be her utmost priority, she would be there for her she would prepare her for anything, although she had training with her father she would try harder to be with Hanabi, lately she's been making too many promises and she could not stop because if she made they it made her feel that she was trying to fix things. _Shisui,_ her mind would wonder to him, what happened to him? she heard that he committed suicide, his body was never found. _Are you alive? and you Itachi, what are you doing?_

He was desperate for escape, escape where? No where, just make a run for it and never look back. He wanted to forget... to forget all those things his brother showed him. His child mind could not comprehend what caused his brother to do such a thing. It was out of character , but then he asked himself. Did he truly know his own brother ? Since Itachi became anbu, Sasuke saw him less and less. Maybe around that time was when his brother changed, something changed or maybe even someone changed him? Sasuke mentally and emotionally pushed away his friends, they would visit him but he didn't have the strength or time to talk to them. He decided not to face them and for that he felt like a coward. _Would they understand me? No!_ No one could, Sasuke concluded on his own. All he had now was himself and no one else. But his young heart that was filled with hope and the hurt child inside him tried yelling at him, to see the wrong in his decisions. To let his friends in. That part of him that wanted love wanted comfort but it wasn't strong enough to act upon it. The white walls of the hospital room furthered his depression, the feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. Not even the light streaming through the window could bring him any type of happiness. Sasuke was startled, spiky blond hair appeared in his window then a face that held blue piercing eyes and whiskers on each side of their cheeks. _Naruto._ Sasuke Immediately scowled, his mood ever changing. He patiently waited as Naruto climbed through the window with sticks and dirt marring his face and clothes. Sasuke's eyes followed Naruto's from until it stopped right in front of his bed."What are you doing here?" Sasuke said in a bored tone. Naruto wasn't one bit fazed he just kept staring at the boy he came to call friend, maybe even a brother.

"Came to see how you were doing."

"I don't want any visitors"

"That's not happening."

"Fine." Sasuke took the covers turned around and covered himself with them ignoring Naruto. _Talk to him!_ Sasuke screamed, he really wanted to turn around and speak his mind to a person who in some way may understand him just a little bit, but he didn't, he didn't turn around and ask for comfort. "That's it!? That's all you're going to do all day? Mope around and not speak to your friends." Naruto fisted his his hands and screamed. "I know how you feel...you're hurting inside, thinking that there is no one there to help you to make you feel better. I felt that way once, but it all changed because of you and Hinata...and the many more we've encountered." Sasuke heard footsteps approaching, so he clutched the blanket harder awaiting for anything, it truly hurt what his friend had said, he was right in everything but it was hard. He wasn't like Naruto who could more or so speak out how he felt, he was quieter more reserved. After thinking about that he noticed that Naruto never approached his side, it was too quiet, hesitantly he pulled the covers away, then turned around. It would be something he would regret immensely. He was assaulted by a group of children his age, they all jumped in the bed and tackled him. "We are not leaving until you speak to us!" All his friends said in unison, Sasuke could only frown but slightly calmed down at seeing Hinata holding a vase with fresh flowers.

 **Author's Note** : Hey guys, hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Its pretty simple, not much action happening, I thought it be best to just have a laid back chapter. Many characters will change so it will be slight ooc, since a few things are happening , have a happy day, until next update. Adios.


	13. Chapter 13 Change

Chapter Thirteen

Changes

Hinata watched with a smile on her face as her friends assaulted Sasuke's room and tackled him. She felt no shame in it , Sasuke clearly needed it and hopefully with the help from them it would ease him some what. Letting out a giggle Hinata placed the vase full of flowers on the nearby table but she stopped upon seeing another set of flowers already taking that place. Eyebrows furrowed Hinata could only think of one person who would do that, Sakura. The young Hyuga remembered that anytime Sasuke was at a the hospital, Sakura would almost always give him flowers so he could recover. Hinata sighed, she turned around to see if there was any other space available, the window offered great lighting for her flowers. Setting them down she admired them for a moment, not sure which flowers to give to Sasuke, Hinata went with the Snapdragons; which stood for change, it would be something everyone would go through. Shikamaru walked over to Hinata and looked out the window, shutting his eyes he let the breeze calm him down before looking up at the sky. The Clouds calmed him even more, he turned around and nodded to Hinata and with his head he pointed towards Sasuke. The young Hyuga turned around and let out a small smile seeing Sasuke's scowl still marring his face. Glancing once more at the flowers she let the meaning of change take over her, She suddenly stopped opening her mouth when she heard Sasuke speak out, it sent a chill down her spine. "Leave." Sasuke voiced out but it only cracked in the process, everyone looked at him with round eyes, they had no idea what to do since they never heard him say such thing and even worse in that tone of voice. Sadness rested in their eyes, it wasn't pity, they already knew he had no need for that. Everyone shook their heads, refusing to leave their friends side even if they felt like the should leave.

"Sasuke...w-we don't need to speak, we can just be here with you."Hinata pleaded, her courage was leaving her, he was the sasuke she remembered, the sasuke she met. She was that shy girl once again.

"We may not know what is going on, but that doesn't mean we won't be there for you." Surprisingly Shino saved Hinata from talking any further which he received a great smile for that. The rest agreed.

"I don't want your company." The children that were on sasuke's bed got off, sensing the behavior they preferred staying away from his outburst.

Sick and tired Naruto yelled out "No... you need it." The Uchiha looked away from Shino, his eyes roaming at the person who so dared tell him what he needed or not needed.

"What did you just say."

"You want us here! you need us!"

"you don-"

"I do! Hinata does too. We have gone through things, it may not be as what you're going through but I know for a fact that...being surrounded by friends will ease things. You won't be the same person, we understand that but please. don' . !" By now Naruto was screaming, he walked over the bed and climbed up, his hands scrunched up on Sasuke shirt collar and placed his face close and personal to Sasuke's. Naruto was getting frustrated as he watched the person he came to see as a brother suffering. Naruto knew exactly what they did to someone, what it did to them emotionally and psychologically. It consumed the person making them think there was no one who could understand them make them think they were useless. All he could think of was being there for Sasuke, being a brother of some sort...save him when he had no one to save him from his own demons. Tears streamed down his face, facing Sasuke and seeing his eyes caused him pain, it was what he saw every time he would look in the mirror the same pain and no one there to make it better. The Uchiha was haunted by the blue eyes, they held so much desperation so much pain and so much hope at the same time. Understanding what was going on proved difficult, he could just not take his eyes away from them, from Naruto. He could practically feel his facade cracking at all the words thrown at him, once again he stood like a child, losing everything he held dear. _So weak_. Ever so slowly his mask fell and the child that was suffering made an appearance, with watery eyes he finally let the tears fall and let his insecurities and feeling take hold of him, all the emotions he held back surfaced and all he could do was let himself feel. Naruto's hands soon held Sasuke in an embrace, tight and secure; all sasuke ever wanted in that moment. His arms wrapped themselves around Naruto's back and held him , a sob escaped him and he soon felt more hands and bodies all around him, Friends, supporting him and taking away the pain he had inside. Everything that was killing him inside was disappearing and a new profound emotion took over, Happiness. The friends all cried in unison, holding onto each other. From here on out Hinata knew things would be different, Sasuke would not be the same he may still hold a vengeance against his brother but, that did not worry Hinata in the slightest because that was who Sasuke was and that would shape him but the friendship he had at the moment would make it better.

Often time things don't go as people want them to, as much as one wants to change them it will always occur one way or another. Maybe different but it will still take effect. Itachi knew it was going to happen, hoping was something he came to detest but thinking on Hinata and all she did for his clan was something he could not just throw away, she was hope to him. she held so much even after all she suffered in the future, he could not for the life of him understand her, how such a person could exist in the world. He got to meet her and he trusted her, he trusted her to keep his family safe, especially his little brother. Now all he could do was be in the back, observe and keep threats away from the village. His hands were forever soiled by the blood of his clan, did he regret it no, but that did not mean it caused him no pain, on the contrary it tarnished him beyond anything. Sasuke, all he did was think of him every waking moment but, he smiled. His little brother had finally let his friends and all thanks to Naruto. That friendship would be something he could not wait to see how it developed. Itachi let the raven disappear, it did its job already no need to spy on his brother anymore, well for the mean time, there would be a day he would see him again but until that day he would protect him and the village.

Deep in the recess of the forest and deep underground where to figures sat across from each other with papers in front of them. Minutes passed and neither spoke a word, no movements at all. Nothing. The sounds of machinery sounded in the distant, their breathing echoed around the walls but yet they were still as stone until one could not take it anymore and finally spoke out. "She may trust you but give me one reason I shouldn't."

"I hold the life of your beloved clan, is that enough reason?" The hooded figure replied.

"Hmpf...Show me where they are."

"Very well." The two figures stood up and walked out the small cave room and walked down the a long narrow hallway, after several turns a bright light blinded Shisui, after he blinked the lights faded and he could see were tubes of some sort on the floor laying beside each other in a horizontal were the Uchiha children that were kidnapped, sound asleep. The sounds of beeping sounded all around him, each of their heart beats taken accounted for."Asleep, will they wake up?"

"Yes, but unless I want them too."

Shisui walked up to one of the tubes and looked down, a young girl laid inside surrounded by white cushioned sheets. "How will they survive?"

"They have an IV inserted in their right arm with that I am able to transfer nutrients, but they do need physical exercise."  
"They need to be awake for that." Shisui realized. If they remained asleep they would not be able to build their muscle or anything else for that matter.

"Exactly."

"I want you-"

"I won't do anything until Hinata tells me too."

"They are my blood!" The Uchiha walked up to the man cloaked in a white robe shadowing his face concealed, the sharingan was visible in his remaining eye.

"Shisui! You're alive...I-I thought you were dead!" Hinata ran and wrapped her arms around Shisui, glad that he was okay. After waking up weeks ago she feared Shisui was dead since the suicide note was found. Seeing the Uchiha warmed her and calmed her to some extent, something about Shisui's expression caused her remember what she overheard not so long ago.

"Hey, yeah I assumed here would be the best place to hide."Shisui smiled nervously. Hinata let go of Shisui then looked over at the girl lying inside the tube.

"Come with me we'll talk about the future of your clan."

The hooded man glanced up and ready to protest,"You can-"

"It's okay, you'll help me with the decisions." Hinata looked over at the man and gave him on of her smiled the man could only follow.

"Very well." The hooded figure said.

The three left the room gathering their thoughts on the future of the Uchiha, the future of the children. It would be something that would ultimately shape the future.

Returning to the compound after stopping at the cemetery and speaking with shisui she managed to get home safe. tired out with the day's events all Hinata wanted to do was rest but she needed to make one more stop. Hanabi was in her father's bedroom, creeping through the hallways she made it to her father's room and there on the floor was her little sister. crawling about the room with saliva hanging down her mouth. With renewed strength Hinata wondered over to her sister and sat down beside her, hanabi automatically went over to her older sister and began playing with her. Hiashi watched with admiration wondering how his brother and himself drifted apart when they were so close just like his daughters, he wished they did not go through the same thing as him. Hinata remembered that in the next few days at the academy they would be introduced to many new things, her ninja training would commence and she was so ready for it. First though was to get some rest and prepare for the days ahead, she smiled thinking on how Sasuke came back to them although different but still him. there always seemed to be new things which consisted of complicated events, it drained her but she stayed strong like all the other times, after finishing playing with Hanabi, Hinata went to her own bedroom thinking about the news she received, Sasuke would be sharing a house with Naruto, at first he despised the idea but soon after from some encouragement from Naruto he accepted. As soon as her head hit the pillow she instantly fell asleep ready to take on the days ahead.

Author's Note: Hey guys! Hoped you enjoyed this chapter. This chapter was going to be going in a different direction but upon writing it decided to go a different way. Probably wondering who could be the cloaked figure? maybe you guys already know. What will happen to the remaining clan and to the friendships? See you guys on the next update. Adios


	14. Chapter 14 Ninja Training

Chapter Fourteen

Ninja Training

"Today is not like any other day, today you will truly commence your ninja training, all that we have learned through the courses of the years will be put to the test- you will apply that to the techniques you'll be learning today." Iruka had his hands behind his back his posture facing the students and his eyes roaming each and every to be Ninja, observing their every move. Most of them were nervous while others could not wait to get started, Iruka smiled internally awaiting to see what they would become. "Starting today you will begin wielding weapons; The shuriken and the kunai." Taking the two weapons of out of his weapons pouch he showed them to the children, they 'oohed' and 'awed.' As Iruka explained what they would be doing Naruto on the other hand could not contain his excitement, he really, really wanted to start training- to be someone, to be recognized by everyone. To be great. He looked over at his friends and noticed how they all seemed calm on the outside but their eyes told a different story. Naruto jerked away from his friends when he heard a whooshing sound coming towards him. "What the heck!" He screaming while looking down at the kunai that was embedded in the ground not so far away from him. "As shown by Naruto, he listened to his instincts and moved out the way but, you will have to react faster." Iruka Sensei moved and picked the kunai up and looked at Naruto." For now you will learn how to handle them in different ways, after that we will have target practice with both weapons." Every child watched as their sensei walked up to a table full the weapons, turned to them and pointed to the table. "Each of you will take the kunai , you will follow my every instruction. Now take one." The Ninja to be ran up to the table and took a kunai. For the past hour they learned how to grip them , how to handle them in any type of situation, after that they moved to the larger training grounds and thus began their target practice. Close to Naruto stood Hinata with her partner holding a large bag containing kunai, her partner ended up being Ino and she was the first to start while Hinata had to wait for her turn. The sounds of metal hitting wood was in the air and the occasional grump coming from her classmates. The hyuga paid no mind to Ino, she was too occupied watching how her friends were doing. Sasuke being Sasuke managed to at least put three into the target, Naruto barely one and the rest of her friends except Lee weren't farring but that didn't stop them from quitting. On a very sudden moment Hinata memories took her back to war, the screams and shouts coming from her friends haunted her, flashes of images shook her body, acutely she could feel herself there all over again. Not paying attention Hinata jerked when she felt a hand on her shoulder, instinctively she quickly took out a kunai and aimed it at the stranger, pale blue eyes stared at her with horror, Ino slowly backed away with her hands in the air. The Hyuga dropped the kunai, her hands were shaking and she stared out at Ino with concern, the images and the sounds of screaming faded into the background, her white eyes scanned the area and her classmates seemed to not have noticed anything. "I-Im sorry, just got n-nervous." With her head down she picked up the kunai, Ino stood a good few feet away from her but still in range. Being on autopilot was something Hinata really detested, she felt like she wasn't in control, had no feelings...just the overwhelming sense of wanting something to be over with. Finally after a few minutes she finally came back to the real world, feel herself have feelings and control and sense eyes on her. Hinata looked around and saw her classmates stare at her with awe, confused the Hyuga looked at her target board and saw that most of her kuani were impaled in it. _No wonder._ "How did you do that?!" Naruto said.

Hinata lamely replied. "Uhm...Practice."

"Alright everyone, go back to practice, in five minutes switch over to the shurikens and practice."

With renewed vigour everyone turned back and began practicing, but the expression on Sasuke's face was the same he once sent to Naruto when they were growing up. She had no idea what to make of it. Iruka sensei directed the children to take a short break to rest and regroup later. The group of friends gathered around each other and sat down under a tree each with their own food in hand. "That was amazing!" Naruto declared with a mouthful of ramen. Sasuke made a disgusted face but nodded in agreement, "Man, I wonder what Iruka will have us do next."

Choji piped up "Fight?"

"Ugh, it's too early to do that. We still have to know each weapon we handle."

"Thanks for ruining the fun shikamaru." Kiba said and Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Whatever."

"Excuse me, can I join you?" A soft voice called out, everyone quieted down and looked behind Hinata, turning around Hinata came face to face with a girl with emerald green eyes and pink hair with a red ribbon around her head. Sakura Haruno, her eyes were directed to Sasuke and a blush covered her cheeks. "Hi Sasuke." The Uchiha only gave her one glance before going back to his food. "Where's Ino?" choji asked, his mouth munching on a bag of chips, "Oh she's not far behind." The pink haired girl only stared at the last Uchiha paying no mind to the others. Naruto went up to Hinata and whispered in her ear," You should let her join, she's very pretty." _Oh no, its starting._ shikamaru noticed Hinata's expression and found it very comical, that was and expression he's never seen on her. "hey! I told you to wait for me!" Ino ran up to the group and introduced herself and as always focused on Sasuke. _What do they see in him?_ Hinata wondered. Akamaru made his way to the two girls and sniffed them, Kiba laughed when he noticed the two girls jump at Akamaru's bark. Without waiting for permission Ino and Sakura sat beside Sasuke and ate their food, Sasuke looked at his friends for help but they only hid their laughs with their hands. That only made Sasuke glare even harder at them, Hinata was the only one throwing him a sympathetic look and Naruto had a frown on his face. "Everyone, gather around me." Putting their food away, the friends made their way to their Sensei and waited for his instructions, "The boys and girls will be separated, each will learn vital information."

"why?"

"Kunoichi training, you will learn to use these skills to infiltrate and to blend in."

"what about the guys?" Another child said.

"Similar but different. Girls you will be taught by a good friend of mine, Kurenai and boys you will be trained by Asuma. Go on, go to your teachers." Everyone scattered and meet their Sensei's.

" Hello young ladies I am Kurenai and I will be teaching you what kunoichi training is all about. I will teach you about every land that surrounds the village, you will learn their customs and the culture- so whenever you have a mission on either territory you will be able to blend in easier."

"Hyuga, your father has taught you things already, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Good good you won't have any problems learning things here." It was just as Hinata remembered, her Sensei was the same as she remembered her, she spoke to them in an authoritative way but at the same time it was motherly. it was what she loved about kurenai, it was like having a motherly figure again. She had missed her so much if she ever needed help she would definitely go to her. The days dragged on and on, the training sessions with all types of teachers was great, the ninja to be soaked in all they could, from weapons to tactics and strategizing, Shikamaru seemed to enjoy that part of training. What was most noticeable was that the lot of friends always stayed close together, they trained and sparred and even went camping into the woods, leaning to hide and use their senses. The friendships grew and the rivalries began, Sasuke and Naruto seemed to always be on each others throats but they were inseparable. with all the ninja training, Hinata still managed to take time off her schedule and visit her sister, although she was tired she did vow to be more present in Hanabi's life. One thing she made sure to do was train her little sister, after losing her she wanted her sister to be as prepared as she was. And it seemed like her family was taking interest in her sister.

 _Two years later,_

The leaves rustled in the wind, the sky was clouded by the storm that would hit the village in a matter of minutes. It was quiet, too quiet, no noise coming from the birds or even the laughter of children. A boy was crouched and hidden behind a shrub, obscuring his figure and breathing as slow as possible, he sniffed the air and the aroma of lavender filled his nostrils, she was near. With a howl he alerted the rest of his teammates, in an instant two figures were beside him , Shino to his right and Choji to his left and Akamaru was not with them. " Five feet that way is Hinata, to her seven o'clock I picked up on Shikamaru -but that was a while ago. The rest I don't know."

"My bugs were able to attach to Naruto, he's not far from us."

" Sasuke hide very well, I think I might have seen him by the river near the big tree."

" As long as we spotted them is-"

"Gotcha!" A boy with blond hair and blue eyes exclaimed. Naruto had a huge smile on his face, that soon faded as the trio poofed away and in their place were tree barks. "Ehh?!"

"Give it up Naruto, we saw you coming!" Kiba announced. On the other hand Naruto was angry, he marched to their direction but stopped as he felt rope around his ankle, Naruto was no hanging upside down,his blood rushing quickly to his head. "What in th- hey! NOW!" Naruto screamed, the trio turned around in alert but it was too late to do anything.

" I have to say, using Naruto as a decoy was a great plan. Good job. You all passed."

Choji with a mouth full of chips asked "But we lost?"

" Yes, but you used all the training you learned on this simulation." Iruka wrote down a few notes on his clipboard, stared at the group gathered around Kiba, Choji, Shino and Naruto. Hinata took her time and helped mend the small cuts on each boy. Something inside him stirred, it could have been the feeling of seeing his students all together not like friends but like family. They were doing great but he knew that when they first set foot to their life as a ninja they would be different. He wished them luck. At the Hyuuga compound, Hinata invited over her friends, there they meet Hanabi and they also met her father. Hiashi was very impressed by the way his daughter's friends treated her especially the Uzumaki kid, and the Uchiha. Hiashi soon retired to his bedroom after having enough of Lee's voice.

 **Author's note** ; I apologize for updating it super late. I had so many things to take care of. Anyways, hoped you enjoyed it, it will be getting to the point where the exams will be coming up!basically where The first Naruto episode/chapter came along. Soon! Till next update. Adios.


	15. Chapter 15 Sisters

**Chapter Fifteen**

 **Sisters**

A child of age three ran down the hallway into the arms of her sister. "Big sister! Play with me. "

"Hanabi, I have training, I'll find you when I'm finished." The youngest Hyuga pouted but ultimately let her sister pass. She's been missing her lately, it seemed she wasn't spending much time with her older sister. "Why does she have to go!" Hanabi's caretaker took a seat beside her charge and answered her. " She is the heir, she has to learn the techniques and ways to manage the clan when she ascends to that position."

"Hn."

"Come, we have our own studies to go through." Hanabi agreed, knowing that after Hinata was done she would come down to her room and teach her a new technique. She's learned the movements , but she put so much effort in it that she wanted to learn the next steps after that. It was only a matter of time before Hinata would be done. Her excitement got her up her chair leaving behind her history homework, padding down the wooden floor she carefully side stepped any loose wood and made her way to the dojo. Bright orange light blinded Hanabi somewhat but her eyes adjusted, Hinata was on the floor clutching her side, her breathing was coming out in spurts and sweat ran down her face. Hanabi's hands went up to her mouth to stifle a gasp, _Big sister? Get up!_ Hinata got up, took the Hyuga stance and began to spar with her father once again. _Yes_. Watching her big sister fight filled Hanabi with renewed strength and determination, she wanted to be like her sister; kind, gentle yet strong. Smiling to herself she watched a bit more before receding back to her bedroom. Worn out, Hinata made it to her bedroom and took a long shower, her father's teaching were different this time around, more rigorous and painful. It helped, she needed to increase her stamina, chakra and physical. Training at the academy was something new, it was different the last time, guess she changed many things.

The Hyuuga heir made her way to her sister's bed chamber, she slid open the door and found herself face to face with Hanabi practicing her Hyuga stance and movements. "Hanabi." So engrossed in her training Hanabi jumped , noticing Hinata she sprinted to her side and hugged her. "Big sister. " Patting her head and embracing her, Hinata made her way to the center of the room, faced her sister and with and authoritative voice said, "Today we will go over once more on the movements, then we spar." Hanabi's cute and innocent face switched over to a more serious one. The youngest Hyuga picked up on every move and strike Hinata instructed her to do, for over a whole month of sparring, Hanabi was almost par to par with Hinata. Instead of this making Hinata angry, sad, weak it made her feel alive, to know that her sister was getting stronger with her help, _She will survive this time around_.

The sisters hoped their father wasn't aware of their training session, oh but he knew. Hiashi stood right outside his youngest daughter bedroom, observing Hinata's progress as well as Hanabi's, his youngest had begun her own training and saw the difference. Three weeks ago he happened to pass by the room when he heard soft voices, his daughters, more specifically Hinata teaching Hanabi. It was interesting, it was happening all over again, he could recall the times he would sneak into his brother's room to show him the latest things he learned and teach it to him. He regretted drifting away from Hizashi.

After many years Hinata was again faced with a troubling . Their relationship was for the most part strained, but she did try to approach him. Nothing really helped, Neji had grown and was now five inches taller than Hinata. His physical had improved a lot but, so did hers, his expression towards her never changed it was the same as always but with a hint of something she couldn't describe. Her father had decided that after extensive training on both their parts they would face each other, _Who's the better Hyuga? Main or branch_? Now, she just waited outside the doors, waiting to be called in. Her knees were pulled towards her chest, head resting on them. She heard footsteps approaching but she didn't look up, Hanabi took a seat beside her sister and placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Hello." Hinata took a peek at her sister and smiled.

"Hi."

"It's going to be okay." Hanabi replied.

The eldest Hyuga admired Hanabi, she always made things better. "Thank you." Hinata was about to say more but stopped, the door slid open and out came Hiashi. "We are about to start." Slowly Hinata got up and looked down at her sister, she gave a smile and went inside the dojo the door closing behind her.

The atmosphere was thick, everyone was nervous, the Branch members stood to the side as well as the Main. _It's like a show._ Neji couldn't help but stare at Hinata, everytime he saw her he was reminded of his father , the hardships of the Branch family. _Lives of the Branch family, are they important at all?_ Asking questions never helped, it only made him bitter. Neji wanted to see Hinata get hurt, show the main that their heir was nothing compared to a branch. He would show them, he vowed. For now he would wait it out, when the opportunity came. "Do not hold back." Hiashi commanded. Hinata knew what he referred to, he didn't want events to repeat themselves. As if on cue, both Hyuga children began, each blow sent a gust of wind all of the room. Both families were in utter shock, never had they seen such match. It was even on both sides, never had they seen such fight. The powers they both produced was outstanding, it was completely different than last times sparr.

All Neji had to do was strike her once, just once and she would be hurt. But he held back, he may have learned the secret techniques of the Main family by that didn't mean he was ready to use it. _No, not yet._ Impressed, that was what Neji's current mood was, he was impressed but how fast and agile his cousin was. She was a completely different person, he still thought of that day she stopped Hiashi from activating the cage bird seal. He never understood why. "Stop."

The two children stepped away from each other and relaxed, their faces were soaked in sweat and their breaths were labored. Momentarily they eyed each other before nodding and facing Hiashi.

"Very good. You are dismissed."

Neji said nothing, with head held high he walked out into the darkening sky. Hinata waited a bit before doing the same. Her father said nothing, she felt his eyes on her throughout the sparr it was nerve wracking. She was afraid he would call her out for holding back. It didn't happen. Thoughts elsewhere she felt a body slam into hers, she automatically wrapped her arm around the small figure. "I'm sweaty."

"I don't care. You did amazing, big sister."

Hinata smiled but then raised and eyebrow,"You were watching, Hanabi, I tol-"

" I know, I just wanted to watch you."

Hinata sighed and let the conversation end, she guided her sister back to her room then she left to have a long bath.

Hinata was in distress, just now she had received some troubling news from her father. _Ignore it._ She told herself, Hanabi was now five years old and she knew what was about to come. Last time, she was supposed to fight her sister, for the title. She lost, but the question was; did she really want the title? It was taken away from her, she was too young. Shaking her head Hinata wandered over to uzumaki-Uchiha residence. Up the steps to the door, she knocked. A bright face greeted her, Naruto, he grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her in. Hinata let out a gasp in surprise, on the table was Sasuke with a bowl of ramen to the side. He gave her a quick smile then went back to glaring at the bowl. "Hinata! You came!"

" Of course I would." Hinata said. Naruto beamed, he went to the stove then took out a bowl and filled it with ramen. "Here, I still have some left. Hehe."

Hinata took the bowl and sat down across from Sasuke, Naruto took a seat in the middle. The young Hyuga wasn't in the mood, the food looked delicious but, there were too many things troubling her. She numbly ate her food, Sasuke nudged Naruto when he noticed Hinata's odd mood. Naruto looked over at his roommate and raised an eyebrow. Sasuke pointed to Hinata, Naruto looked over at her and noticed her sad expression. "Hey, Uhm..."

"What's wrong with you." Sasuke interrupted, Naruto glared at Sasuke but turned back to his friend. Hinata looked up in surprise, she was going to lie but she knew they would see through it. Sighing she opened her mouth,

" My sister is showing great promise in the Hyuga arts, my grandfather has taken an interest in her...he wants to test us. If we prove equal there will be a fight between us both, fo-for the title." The sounds of chopsticks could be heard falling to the ground, Sasukes face changed instantly. "What?! Can they do that?" Naruto exclaimed.

Hinata piped up," Yes, if the heir is not suitable they can be replaced by the next in line."

" You're going to give it to her, aren't you?" Hinata's eyes drew to Sasuke in surprise. She said nothing just stared at him wondering how he knew. The Uchiha eyes narrowed and shook his head,"Why? It's your right."

"I-I don't think I'm suitable for it." Old memories surfaced, remembering the day she fought her sister was torture, she didn't want to go through it again. Her purpose was to stop a war not think about her position in her clan. But, she did make a promise; a promise that had to be kept. _What have I gotten myself into?_

"Hinata, you are suitable." Naruto looked at her with his blue eyes, piercing her soul and asking her why.

"I have to hurt her, I don't...want to do that."

"Then don't. You have a choice don't you?!"

"I...I have an idea but just don't know if it'll work."

"What is it?" Sasuke asked. The Hyuga looked at her two friends and told them her plan, they listened attentively and provided their own ideas and opinions. All in all it was good for Hinata, she knew exactly what to do.

In moments of stress all one could do was keep going, push past all their insecurities, guilt and with the decisions they make it will lead to something better. Hinata Hyuga, heir to a respected clan was now face to face with her sister, like the day she remembered so long ago. So small and delicate, brown hair cascading down their face blocking their sight. Hinata always wondered how her sister managed to see. Two years had passed and during that time Hinata took it upon herself to train Hanabi, to show her to protect herself. If by doing that changed anything she would do it, not just for her sister but for herself, the guilt had been eating her away. Just like before, her grandfather had taken notice of Hanabi potential. She remembered Naruto's and Sasuke's words two days ago, she would hold on to them. Hanabi looked nervous, her child face was torn. _Don't worry little sister, I won't hurt you. I'll fight to protect you no matter what._ Hiashi stepped up to his eldest daughter, placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. " I want you to do your best, fight like your life is on the line. Prove to me you are fit for this position." Hinata's heart was beating rapidly, her father's words were similar to last times but different, this time around his eyes told her something else; he believed in her. Hinata smiled at her father, she turned to her sister, embraced her then took her place. Hanabi did the same, her hair falling over her face and white eyes observing her sister. _Big sister._

 **Author's note;** Hello my lovely readers, hope you enjoyed this chapter. What will Hinata do? I'll see you in the next update. Adios.


	16. Chapter 16 The Hyuga Heir

Chapter Sixteen

The Hyuuga Heir

Hinata would do it, she would do just as she had planned. The doors to the Hyuga compound were closed off, all the members of the Hyuga family were present right outside in the courtyard, It was a large area, the courtyard was overlooked for just a courtyard but it was more than that. Throughout the generations the Hyuga practiced their arts, now it was used as a meeting place. Today, it was going to be the place where two siblings would fight for the title of the Hyuga Heir. Hiashi stood in front of the main house, around the perimeter were both families, each watching him and his daughters. He felt sick, he wanted it to end. His daughters, he despised the idea of both of them fighting, fighting for a title. They were close sisters, would the fight separate them just as he left his brother? Now, there was nothing he could do, his own father wanted it, he had no choice anymore. _Hinata, prove to him you are worthy._ His father joined beside him and observed his granddaughters. Hiashi watched with dread as his daughters took their place, He caught Hanabi smiling at Hinata- that only made Hiashi's heart heavier. The Hyuga leader turned when his eyes caught something, Neji was there. His usual mask was gone, amusement showed on his face. _You're getting a kick out of this._ Hiashi thought.

Hanabi felt all eyes on her, it was hard concentrating on her sister but she managed when Hinata sent her a small smile. Hanabi returned it, she got into a fighting stance. At the same time both sisters activated their Byakugan, veins appeared. After their father began the fight Hanabi struck first, Hinata was able to deflect them and send some of her own. What was unique to both girl was ; Hanabi was best at offense while Hinata was better in defense. Hinata desperately avoided hitting any important chakra points. The crowd was in awe, both sisters showed great promise but they knew only one would be the Heiress. Hinata had carefully calculated every move she sent and what the damage would be. Neji, she had to thank him, at the chunin exams he was able to hit her chakra points without her noticing. Now, she was using the same method. _That way I won't have to hurt you._ Clearly Hinata was noticing the effect she was causing her sister, already her chakra pathways were ceasing. Any moment now Hanabi would be incapable of continuing. Hanabi saw an opening right at Hinata's midsection, pulling her hand back she released chakra ready to strike her older sister. The youngest Hyuga froze mid attack, her body wasn't responding. Eyes wide she awaiting the final blow from her sister, thing was she never felt it. Hanabi glanced at her sister before her limbs went heavy and she tilted to the side. Hinata quickly deactivated her byakugan, ran to her sister and caught her before she could hit the ground.

Hinata held her sister gently, her eyes filled with worry. Hinata cradled Hanabi's head on her lap. Had she hurt her worse than she thought? Was she going to be okay? Her thoughts stopped when she heard Hanabi speak. "Big sister-"

"Y-yes Hanabi, what's wrong? Are you ok-"

Hanabi cut her off with a small laugh."I'm okay, just...I can't move."

"Oh, you just need rest, it will wear off soon." Hinata raked her fingers through Hanabi's hair, it was soft and thin. _I'm glad you're okay._ The two sisters conversation paused when they heard their grandfather speak , they both looked up. The whole family had a confused look on their face, once again they were taken aback by Hinata. She had proved herself time and time again to the branch family, they thought they couldn't be surprised any more but they were wrong. It was silent, Hiashi internally smiled, he knew exactly what his daughter had doing. Instead of physically hurting Hanabi, Hinata carefully targeted minor points that had great impact on one's mobility.

Hiashi was about to go and tend to his daughter but was stopped by his father. Hiashi was uncertain on what was going on. The elder Hyuuga walked over to his granddaughters, he stared down and gave Hanabi the most disappointed look he could muster. It hit home, it was the same look she had received from her father when she lost to her sister. _No!_ Hanabi's smile disappeared and sadness took over her. " I had high hopes for you." Hinata wasn't easily driven by her emotions, so it was very surprising when she spoke out of turn. She could not stop the words from forming and even yet from coming out as they did. Voice soft but filled with merit she looked at her father then at her grandfather.

"No, Hanabi did great as any Hyuga here. She may not have beaten me but she was my equal in many ways." Hinata directed her attention to her sister. Hanabi looked so far away, she was the one who took in all the hits and now she seemed like she couldn't take any in. _Because of those words_. Hanabi held onto her sister, never tearing her eyes away from her.

"Hanabi has her strengths, she is a great attacker. I admire her for that. Personally I think I am not fit for the position. I want to propose something." There was a collective gasp coming from everyone, the Hyuga could only stay quit and wait for the next events to unfold. . Neji could not contain his anger, his little cousin was proving she was the best suited to guide the clan. Every time he thought something , Hinata would contradict it. It was tiring, with the match he wanted to see Hinata lose. See her crumble under the pressure, to see her- he didn't know what he wanted anymore. He was confined with too many questions and emotions. He was a bird in a cage, being passed down by the main family.

Hinata now the heiress gently stood up and helped her sister stand up as well, she used her body to keep Hanabi in an upright position. _I can change the Hyuuga. I will change it!_ Her family- that's what they were to her. There was no separation between them. Hinata spoke on her family. "I'm going to break tradition, I want to share my title as heir with Hanabi. I believe that anything could happen, in case anything were to happen to me...I want Hanabi ready to take my place. Grandfather...I know what I'm asking is too much but I ask of you to think it over with father." Would her grandfather hear her out?

"From what I have witness, I don't have to think about it." Hiashi internally agreed, Hinata just now showed promise not in the way his father wanted to see but, Hinata still managed to be approved.

" Each head of the family have their own unique leadership, just now you have showed some of yours." Hiashi told his daughters, he then turned to the audience at hand. Both Main and Branch families stood still, their white eyes roaming back and forth between the two sisters and their clan leaders. After a few minutes Hiashi dismissed the family back to their own homes. The head of the clan immediately went to check on his two daughters, he found them in their beds fast asleep.

It was the most blissful feeling, to be accepted, to be seen as strong and not weak. Was it the same feeling Naruto felt when the whole village finally accepted him? of course Hinata was no where near as Naruto got but it meant something to her. After so many years of wanting approvement from her family she finally received, and all by herself. It had taken so many years for her to show them she was worthy of being a Hyuga. Now, it had taken less. With a new found confidence Hinata was ready to take on anything, well not anything, best to take it a day at a time. A day after the fight Hinata spent the whole day with Hanabi, telling her stories of a boy who with many odds ahead of him became one of the most know and powerful ninja of his era.

Months later.

" Did you ever meet him?"

"yes, but our interactions were always short…"

Naruto looked down at Hizashi's grave, it was the first time he ever visited the cemetery, there was no reason to go there in the first place. He often wondered who his family was, if he had any. The third Hokage never gave him any information on them, all he could get from the old man was that they had loved him. Naruto felt his shoulder heavy, he looked over and saw a pale hand. Hinata smiled at him, he returned and both headed out. It was the middle of november, the first snowfall had blanketed the village. All around them kids screamed and laughed, they threw snowballs at eachother , he came to stop when they neared a clearing with trees lining in on either side of a path.

"This is where I first met you."

"Huh? Oh, yes I remember!" Hinata clearly recalled that day she stumbled upon Naruto, one of the happiest days of her life.

"You know what we should do?"

Hinata raised an eyebrow, "What?" Naruto gave her a huge smile.

"Let's go get the rest of the gang and have a snowball fight!" Naruto didn't wait for a response, he sped off to the opposite direction screaming he would get Sasuke, Shikamaru and Choji. Hinata shook her head before searching out Kiba with Akamaru, Lee and Shino.

Everyone held their breaths, there were at least nine forts of snow built; each with their own fighter. The two groups could feel the final battle was hitting its climax, they wasted no time. The group of friends rose up behind their four, hands filled with snowballs ready to throw- snowballs flew overhead like shooting stars waiting to hit their mark, several minutes passed, the children were all sprawled on the snow with chests rising up and down. Naruto burst out in laughter causing the others to join in. With their guards down they could not feel the pair of eyes on them, feel the way it blankly stared at them with an intent of want. The pair of eyes blinked and they disappeared. Sasuke rose up in panic, he looked towards the darkening forest, he squinted his eyes trying to find something but he couldn't see anything. In the back of his head something told him to be wary.

After she left her friends she went straight home to her bath and then to bed. It was sleep she was seeking out but she got something else entirely. The side of her neck burst into searing pain, it felt as if she got bitten by something. Her hand went up to her neck- she felt nothing but the pain was still there. _Mirror,_ Hinata stood up off her bed, her feet touched the ground. Vision became hazy, her body felt heavy and the room looked like it was spinning. with hand still to her neck she took small steps to her vanity, every few seconds or so pain would fill her causing her to stop to breath before continuing. _Breath._ in front of her vanity she saw a hazy image of her in the mirror, leaning forward she focused on the image the on her neck, that is when she saw it. Three black tomoe's on her neck, her eyes widen in shock as she noticed red orange flame marks appear on one side of her face and making its way to the other side as well. Her vision blurred before going back to normal she stumbled backwards, she wasn't looking at herself in the mirror anymore, it was Sasuke, his sharingan activated and the flame marks marring his body.

 **Author's Note** : Hello lovely readers, I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Wondering who was watching the friends? I gave some clues. Alright, have great day and till next update. Adios


	17. Chapter 17 Sweet Violet

Chapter Seventeen

Sweet Violet

 _Sasuke?_ With wide eyes, Hinata leaned closer to the mirror but she stopped, the pain returned ten fold causing her to drop to the floor clutching her neck. Eyes shut tight she bit her tongue from stopping her screams. The pain not one second dissipated it only increased, through the pain Hinata could feel tears well up her eyes, _Why_? She questioned. Soon the pain disappeared and with shaking limbs she stood up, in the mirror was now her reflection staring back at her with despair. Sweat ran down her face and neck, body still shaking. _Sasuke what have you done to me? There's more to the memories._ The heiress was about to turn around and walk out her room when mist appeared making her heart skip a beat.

Hinata began to panic, no air was passing through her lungs, she wasn't breathing. Her hands clawed at her neck and face trying to find the source, her eyes bugged out and her pale complexion was turning a shade of blue. Once again she fell on the floor, twisting and turning in pain. With a sudden jolt Hinata's mouth opened, and lungs expanded with air. She took big gulps, took her about a minute to get back to normal. The heiress noticed the mist had cleared, staying on the ground was her best option, she was afraid- afraid that if she moved there would be something else in store for her. She stayed awake entire night in a fetal position, eyes fixated at the moon.

Morning came, Hyuga's could be heard walking down corridors and the smell of food made Hinata's nose twitch. _Move_. She told herself, but her body made no effort. It was the weekend, which meant she had no school and she had not planned anything with her friends that day. _Shisui._ Mind made up, Hinata forced her body to move, it was hard but she managed. She placed her hands on top of her vanity and used it to get up. Her reflection mirrored what she felt, bags were underneath her eyes from not sleeping, her bangs and hair were a frizzy tangled mess. With heavy steps she went to her wardrobe, took out a coat and put it on over her sleep wear. Little to no energy Hinata managed to activate her byakugan and check to see there was no one in her way from her destination.

Right outside the entrance was Shisui Uchiha, being holed up in the cave was not the way he wanted to enjoy his days off. For the past years he had no encounters with Itachi, only for the occasional raven. Yet he never received much update from him. What he did mention was a name. _Akatsuki._ Nothing more, Shisui wanted to go with Itachi but he was warned not to go. He was supposed to be dead, no need to complicate things with his arrival. Difficult part that proved hard was his eyesight, having only one eye was tough in the beginning but now he was getting used to it. Although it was freezing he preferred the outdoors there was something about it. He felt free. Plus he could stay clear from that weird Hy- he paused mid thought. . He activated his sharingan and took out some weapons. _There shouldn't be people here._ The alarms had triggered, the inside of his hand burned, he turned it over and saw a bright red seal appearing. _Someone bypassed the security._ Adrenaline pumped through his body he was ready to fight. He's been craving and missing it for a while.

A figure stepped out, Shisui's hands twitched with anticipation. They had a white coat with a bright yellow scarf, with his sharingan on he forced the figure to stop in their tracks. First he had to know who they were, he cautiously stepped closer but halted after realizing it was Hinata. The Uchiha sighed in defeat, _no fights for today,_ he deactivated his sharingan and raised his hand to wave. Shisui sprinted off in a run, once he deactivated his bloodline limit he saw as Hinata's body crumbled on top of the snow. Unmoving. "Hinata!?" His legs carried him and on the last minute he slid through the snow before stopping in front of Hinata. "Hey!...come on- wake up!" Shisui said as he gently tapped Hinata's cheek in order to wake her up. _Damn it._ The Uchiha picked the young girl up and sped off into the cave where hopefully they could treat her.

Hinata sat on the ledge of the rooftop, contently watching the sky as it became illuminated by the many stars. It was peaceful and secluded, perfect place for her to yearn. After many years she finally accepted the truth, it wasn't real, and because of that she could let go. Who knew letting go would feel so good. But, by not letting go she became a stronger person. "You know, if you stay here you will be found." Startled Hinata stood up, in front of her was the infamous Sasuke Uchiha. Wearing unusual clothes. Sasuke noticed where her eyes landed and raised an eyebrow. "Here I thought you were polite, from what I heard." Hinata blushed and apologized. Sasuke shrugged and turned around to leave. This was her only chance, she had to talk to him.

"Sasuke, I-I want to thank you. "

"For?" He turned around his whole body covered by his tattered poncho.

"For saving my father from that man."

"Hn." Was his reply. The Hyuuga was not affected by his behavior, she was used to it. She was surrounded by it. Sasuke let out a moan then a grunt, with his hand he patted his body searching for something. He let an occasional yelp but otherwise he looked troubled. "Where is it?"

"What's wrong?!" Hinata asked concerned. Sasuke ignored her. The savior of the leaf village landed on top of the rooftop with a goofy smile on his face. "Sasuke! You're back. wE're going to need your help

with this new guy. " Naruto wandered over to his best friend and placed his hand on his shoulder. The future Hokage smile faded, something was wrong with his friend.

"Hey? You alright?"

"Shut it."

"HEY! I'm trying to help you."

"Fine, I can't find my vial."

"Oh!" Naruto said. His hands and fingers groping and patting Sasuke's body. The Uchiha pushed away from Naruto and began searching again. Hinata was utterly confused... What was he searching? Naruto seemed to not notice her which was good. She took a few steps back when she heard rattling. She turned around and found a vial filled with some kind of purple liquid. _Was this what he was looking for?_ Bending down she picked the item and walked over to Sasuke. "Is this what you were looking for?"

The Uchiha paused his search, looked over at the shy Hyuga then at her hand. " Well aren't you going to hand it to me?" Hinata gave a small squeak, took a few steps forward and handed the vial over to the Uchiha. Instead of snatching the vial away from her hand he gently pulled it then opened the cork and chugged it down. There wasn't much change to his expression but there was just the slightest relief. " You should really keep track of them. Sakura can make you another batch." Naruto interjected the silent ambient. Hinata wasn't sure what they were talking about, seemed to be something personal, be best to leave. Naruto in the moment looked over at Hinata, his blue eyes looking her over. His cheerful expression descended into a look of pity. Sasuke noticed the small interaction, he was going to comment on it when he heard a voice in his head.

 _Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata! We need all three of you back at headquarters, there has been a breach from one of the neighboring villages._

Ino's voice rang out, immediately the three made their way to headquarters ready to take on anything.

Shisui walked back in forth biting his lip in worry,

" She hasn't woken up, it's been three hours."

" Calm down, she's stable."

Shisui was on the brink of exploding. The hooded figure was really getting on his nerves, never in his life has he felt such burning hatred towards the guy. Now, he was ready to release that frustration. "Listen pal, don't pretend not t-"

"Sw-Sweet violet...I need it. Please!" Hinata said in a hoarse voice, Shisui heard and directed his attention to Hinata. He was relieved. "Sweet violet."

"What?"

"It's a plant, it's used as a pain and muscle reliever." The hooded man said. "I'll go and fetch it." He stood up and left.

"Shisui, wha...what are the side effects of having memories from others?" The Hyuga needed to know, she was for certain Sasuke suffered the same thing. _Sweet violet, it was what was in the vial._ Itachi sighed. Knowing Hinata experienced on of her many memories but with a price. " Those who have had memory transfers are prone to pain, they see the memories without them wanting to see them, first it's just flashes of images. After that it gets stronger- the person experiences the feelings and sometimes the pain." It was exactly what Hinata was going through. The first time it happened it was headaches then when she was Itachi killing his clan. Feeling everything. Now, it was getting worse.

"Usually it's slow but in you...it's gotten bad." Hinata didn't need to nod, Itachi already knew. " That's why I need the plant, it will help...although I've never tried it." The hooded man entered with a handful of the purple plant. Hinata gave weak smile, her eyes closed but before she fell into the land of dreams she managed to say something. "Thank you Eiji."

"Eiji?" Shisui spun around and there standing was the supposedly dead Eiji Hyuga.

 **Author's Note: Important!** There might be a slight chance chapter 18 won't be updated on Monday. I will be on a trip. If it's not

Posted on Monday it will be on early Tuesday. Well I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Until next update. Adios.


	18. Chapter 18 Demon Within

Chapter Eighteen

Demon Within.

It was very rare for Shisui to be surprised but in that moment he really was. Eiji Hyuuga stood before him, hood pulled down and his eyes; they had scars around them.

"How?" Shisui questioned. Eiji moved over to the kitchen and began preparing the tea.

"Miss Hinata...she healed me. She took me here and hid me."

"Why?"

"I ask myself that question everyday. When she wakes we have to give her the tea, it will help."

Shisui asked no more, it wasn't the time to do such thing, they awaited patiently for Hinata to wake up. Which she did an hour later. Still, Shisui wanted answers. If Hinata healed Eiji, did that mean he knew everything about her and her mission? He would wait and ask those questions when the need arose.

 _Two years later._

"Naruto, we have gone through this many times. It's simple."

"Yeah! Well I'm not like you...just let me concentrate." Sasuke let out a sigh and sat down watching as Naruto casted the transformation Jutsu and failing miserably. It was frustrating, they had three pre trials and he failed all three of them, how was he supposed to pass? Even with the help of his friend he couldn't grasp it. _How am I supposed to be Hokage?_ Naruto wondered.

"Is there an easier method?" The Uzumaki asked. The Uchiha raised and eyebrow and shook his head no. Naruto visibly deflated but he went onward, not giving up. "You'll see Sasuke, by the time we take the test I'll have this down." Sasuke wasn't impressed but he was proud, he just hoped his friend passed the finals tomorrow.

Nervousness coursed through his body, Naruto was visibly shaken, he practiced all night and he managed to conjure something passable, he just prayed Iruka Sensei passed him. Like always he took his seat beside Hinata, she sent him a warm smile but it didn't help diffuse his feelings. _I don't want to be left behind._ Hinata's eyes captured the way Naruto's fingers shook and how low his Chakra had become even without her byakugan. She turned to Sasuke and silently asked him a question, he opened his mouth and then shook his head. The Hyuga began to wonder...Naruto didn't pass only after something happened, _what happened?_ Not able to think on it, Iruka walked in with a clipboard in hand and a red pen. He looked up and called out to the class. " Today is the final, it will determine if you become a Genin. Now, when I call your name your will proceed to the testing area."

Naruto breathed deeply and softly exhaled, he had to be ready...ready to take on the test and prove to his Sensei that he was ready to be a ninja. _Calm down Naruto, you'll do fine._ He tried telling himself yet he knew it was useless. What Naruto really appreciated was the faith his friends had in him, in some way they all sent him some a good luck gesture. It fueled his determination even more. He sometimes wondered what would be of him if he had no friends. Would he be lonely? Do things to attract attention? He shook his head, deciding to drift away from those thoughts right then Iruka called his name. He rose from his seat and followed Iruka out the door into a hallway that lead to a another classroom. Inside waiting was a man with snow white hair that ended before touching his shoulders and that was parted right in the middle. He had gentle eyes and a friendly face. "Naruto, good to see you."

"Mizuki Sensei will be observing today's finals. Naruto take your place in front of the table."

Senses on alert and chakra ready to power up Naruto placed his hands into a hand sign and spoke the Jutsu out loud. _Please work! Believe it, Naruto._ Blue Chakra swirled around his body emitting huge gusts of wind, in a poof was Iruka sensei in Naruto's place with a big grin plastered on his face. In an instant Naruto was himself again, Iruka was impressed but he needed to do one last test.

"Impressive Naruto, but...there's one more part. The clone jutsu."

"What!" Naruto felt drained, exhaustion was setting in and he could feel his chakra was low. He knew for a fact he needed a lot of chakra to manifest a clone he wasn't sure if he had enough. _It's my worst technique._ He thought. In the back of his mind he felt an odd presence there with him, a whisper, luring him into who knows what. He shook his head and the feeling went away. Naruto clasped his hands together in a hand sign and activated the Jutsu, again there was a blue swirl and a poof. Beside the him was a pitiful clone of himself, lifeless and dull right on the floor. What made it worse was the expression

Iruka Sensei had on his face. Disappointment. It was the first time any of those looks actually had an effect on him, he let someone down and it was on of the worst feelings ever.

"You fail, Naruto." Iruka announced, Mizuki looked over at Naruto then at Iruka.

"You should cut him some slack, he completed the transformation Jutsu. The other one you could tell he had the technique down. " Naruto brightened at the comment, hoping that they would let him graduate. But it changed at the next comment.

"No. The others managed to do more than one clone, his is just nothing compared to the rest." It was like a point blank hit, Naruto clenched his hands and glared at the person whom he confided when he was younger , when he had no one. He was almost like a brother and close to a father figure. Naruto looked off to the side with his eyes brows furrowed and thinking upon what he did wrong. Not letting himself be dismissed he walked out the door without looking back. Running down the hallway he went outside the academy and sat at his favorite swing, right where he would be able to see all the graduates.

Why was sitting at the one place where he knew he would suffer? Maybe to hopefully be that person, to be congratulated by everyone. _Who made you think you could be a ninja, much less a hokage.?_

 _Na-ru-to._

The young boy looked up then at his surroundings. The presence from before was back. It called to him again, luring him, with such a gentleness.

 _If you want more Power...I could lend you some._

Something was wrong, Naruto came back out from the daze, he blinked several times and regrouped his thoughts. _That voice._ The young teen was concerned, it was the first time he's ever heard a voice aside from his own. It was different , sounded comforting but his sense told him not to give in. In the distance the sounds of voices filled the air, making Naruto forget about the voice. His blue eyes lost their sparkle, his mood got lower and lower as he watched his friends and their parents.

Although he wasn't close to anyone in particular he caught something, two women talking about him, more specifically they were glad he didn't graduate. But why? Was he such a troublemaker that they didn't want him? Was he even a troublemaker? It made no sense. "He's that boy with th-"

"Shh...we are not supposed to talk about that."

 _The boy? With what?_ Naruto had now noticed that many of the adults were staring at him with judgement.

"You know, Iruka Sensei only wants the best for you." The Uzumaki looked up and there was Mizuki Sensei.

"Well he doesn't show it. " Naruto responded.

"Come with me. I'll tell you more about him." On one hand Naruto wanted to be away from everyone but then on the other he wanted to see his friends to support them even if he didn't graduate. Ultimately the left with Mizuki.

After so long Hinata had her konoha headband once again, she wanted to desperately put it over her forehead but she couldn't, the branch family would see that as mockery or insult to their curse seal. All she had to do was remember that she didn't have her curse mark and there was no need for her to cover it. So like the other times she placed it around her neck, displaying it proudly. Hanabi and her father had visited her, in their own way they were proud of her. Hanabi had figured out that she had to conceal her emotions in order to play the second heiress and to be a Hyuga. After telling her father that she would be with her friends for a while she set out to the swing where last time she saw Naruto, he wasn't there. Hinata made her way to the Uzumaki-Uchiha residence and yet she found no blue eye boy. Sasuke saw the worry in Hinata and followed her out into the village to search out their friend.

"Use your byakugan "

"I have...but my sight has a limit, it hasn't expanded much."

."You two." Kiba said pointing, "Where have you been...we've been looking all around for you two." Akamaru let out a bark and made his way to Hinata's arms. Behind Kiba was the rest of the group, Lee, Choji, Shikamaru and Shino.

"Sorry- we're actually looking for Naruto. we can't find him." There was an awkward silence, they all knew what happened with Naruto, he had not passed.

"Akamaru...search out Naruto." Quickly Akamaru followed his master's order and set out into the forest. Once in a while Hinata would activate her byakugan but with no luck. "I think- I can smell 's close, but there's more than one scent with him." The group sprinted off following Kiba and Akamaru, as they neared a clearing they saw Naruto with a scroll wrapped around his back and looking troubled. Lee was about to say something but Sasuke covered his mouth."Don't say anything, something's wrong." The group immediately stopped in their tracks, they looked over at Sasuke silently asking him what was going on. Sasuke only moved his head towards Naruto's direction. The friends saw Iruka Sensei pinned to a wall and a figure on a tree branch glaring down at Naruto and Iruka.

"Ill tell you who's lying."

"Mizuki! Don't!" Iruka screamed.

"They have been lying to you your whole life, since the decree a long time ago." Naruto didn't want to know, he knew the villagers hated him and he often wondered why, but now he would have an answer and yet he didn't want to know. "What decree?"

"Everyone knows, I bet even your friends know about it."  
"What is it!"

"You are the nine tailed fox, the beast that killed Iruka sensei's parents and destroyed the village, it's in you." _No, no it can't be_...but it all made sense, deep down Naruto knew, he knew. "Why do you think the village acted the way they did with you, why they treated you like dirt, they all prefered you dead. Even your friends." _My friends?_

"Did you actually believe they liked you? They're all the same."

Blue chakra swirled around Naruto like a protection, the voice came back ten fold with it's sweet voice and promises, the power. _Naruto, let me through and I'll show them...show them the power you hold._ It was oh so very tempting, he could feel the power surge through him, feel how his blue chakra changed to a red orange color. Iruka screamed but it only landed on deaf ears, Naruto was too far gone, the seal was breaking. Hell would break lose.

 **Author's note** : Although It wasn't posted on Monday I managed to do it on Tuesday. I do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. And Thank you for those lovely reviews! Updates will go back to normal. Until then, Adios.


	19. Chapter 19 Potential

Chapter Nineteen

Potential

The surge of power ran through Naruto, he could feel everything. The teen was blinded by rage and revenge, he wanted everything to end, to stop everything...to cause pain. Mizuki laughed menacingly, everything was going to plan. "He's a beast! And that all he will ever be!"

"No! He is not." Different voices all shouted at once, Mizuki turned to the sound and laughed amused at the sight. Seven kids and a dog, all stood in front of Iruka and some around the beast. Hinata stood right in front of Naruto who was radiating immense chakra, his eyes were shut tight and arms at his sides. The Uzumaki looked like he was trying to suppress something but it was becoming a struggle for him. The Hyuga for the first time had no idea what to do, Sasuke, and Sakura were the only ones to know how to handle him. It was her first time seeing Naruto in that state. _I don't know what to do._

"You need to leave, Now!" Iruka said between coughs, "It's not safe, Naruto's not stable. Get the Hokage."

"Sensei- that won't be a possibility, we won't leave." Kiba interjected.

Mizuki was having enough, he needed the scroll on way or another, "Listen to your Sensei, move along." He reached behind him and took out one of the two large shurikens, his arm ready to throw. Without any warning Mizuki threw the weapon, it hurdled cutting through the air and heading straight to the three teens surrounding Naruto. Sasuke automatically shielded Hinata and Shino got his body ready for the incoming hit. None felt any pain, they all turned around after hearing a gasp and a cough, in unison they all let out a scream, "Iruka Sensei!"

Their Sensei was facing them, blood falling down his chin, his arms outstretched in a protecting manner and the shuriken impaled in his back. "Get Naruto and leave- I'll handle Mizu-" Iruka collapsed and fell on his hands and knees, his vision blurring in and out. Hinata moved away from Sasuke, activated her Byakugan and crouched near Iruka. Using her fingers she hit certain points in his back, she wanted to numb him before taking out the shuriken. After doing that she went on to pull out the weapon, Shino and Shikamaru went and helped Hinata remove it.

Naruto was lost, all he could hear was muffled voices and the gentle force calling out to him, the promise of- _what was the promise again?_ He wandered, through a hazy cloud Naruto was gaining his senses, the faint sense of security was leaving him and reality came crashing back, tormenting him all over again. Tears welled up, it was getting harder and harder to breath, _Naruto, come, let me through- I'll take away the pain._

All he needed to do was let go, he did it just a moment ago why did he have control again?

 _That's it, closer-those villager wont know what hit them._

The village, the one place Naruto-

 _The one place they hated you- preferred you dead than alive._

It was wrong, as much as they hated him, he would find a way for their acceptance. Did he want that now? No, not anymore. _What do I want? Revenge?_ Naruto's hand reached out,his fingers skimming and feeling something cold a metal like object. It was far too dark from him to see anything other than bleak darkness. But, something made him stop, something made him open his eyes and something told him to fight.

 _M-My friends- Iruka Sensei_. Mizuki stood above Shikamaru, a kunai pointed at him, around them were the bodies of his friends all lying as if they were dead. _I'll show them, show th-_

"You won't show anything, I will!"Naruto, forced the feeling down, caged it away before he let it escape. Mizuki swerved around right before he was going to plunge the kunai in Shikamaru's chest, "Oh...Naruto. Your friends attacked me in order to get the scroll from you, just like I said earlier." Mizuki stepped around the bodies, the kunai still in hand. "You think I would believe you, you hurt my friends and you'll pay."

"You, don't make me laugh- you who failed the exam."

"The free time I had with the scroll, I managed to exam it and learn a jutsu."

"N-Naruto, don't...leave." Naruto kept his eyes on Mizuki, but answered back.

"Don't worry Iruka Sensei, I'll protect you and my friends." Mizuki removed the last remaining shuriken from his back, Naruto smirked and formed a hand sign."Shadow clone Jutsu!" More than a hundred Naruto's appeared, each of them smirking and ready to fight. Mizuki stared wide eyed, fright written on his face, he had no chance of fighting. All the clones attacked simultaneously, all of them with red chakra surrounding them. Iruka could not contain the feeling that was sprouting in his chest, the boy who was only considered a monster, did the opposite. He had on last thing to do, to make it up to Naruto.

Naruto walked up and down the hospital hallway right where all his friends rooms were in, nothing major happened to them, Iruka mentioned they were subdued-probably by a genjutsu, Hinata was the only one to not have woken up yet. It was worrisome, he felt relieved they were okay and most of all that he saved them. He knew they were true friends, he felt no danger with him or even deceit, only friendship from all of them. On the next day, all the teens had their headbands on and stood outside the academy doors, they entered and went to the swing under the tree. Naruto greeted them with a smile and a wave, Hinata zoomed past the group and encircled him in a hug. "I'm glad you're alright. Thank you by the way." Naruto blushed and nervously laughed. Kiba came up and hit Naruto on the shoulder, "That's for worrying us."

"Naruto," The group of friends looked at Iruka's form approaching them, they were about to turn and leave but their Sensei stopped them."Stay, the announcement concerns all of you," His attention turned to Naruto, he smiled.

"I've been meaning to give you this," Iruka took out an item from behind his pocket, his hand held a Konoha headband. "I failed to see the potential in you, yesterday you proved you're worthy to be a ninja, take it...Ill see all of you in class in a few minutes." Shakily the Uzumaki reached for the headband, took off his green goggles and replaced it with his newly headband, the metal glistening brightly. "Thank you Iruka Sensei!" Naruto couldn't help but hug his Sensei, Iruka laughed and headed back inside the academy.

The Hokage smiled, it seemed like Naruto was on the right path after all. He would keep an eye on everyone, especially the Hyuga; he was informed she had some kind of substance in her body, unidentifiable. Even before that he watched from his crystal ball as Hinata was about to make a move on Mizuki when she collapsed in pain and took out a vial, drinking the contents before being attacked. Now, he would enjoy the view, Naruto, jumping in joy and his friends following along. Hiruzen deactivated the crystal ball and looked up at the new Sensei's, awaiting to know who they got as a team. it was tricky putting everyone on a team especially since it changed that morning.

Sakura, Ino and the rest of the graduating students were surprised to see Naruto step in with a cheesy grin , and displaying his forehead protector."I told you I would pass!" Naruto took the time to announce, he haughtily made his way to his seat, he stopped seeing Sakura in Hinata's seat. "Sakura, came to se-"

"No, waiting on Sasuke." Naruto narrowed his eyes then pointed at Sakura. "Hey, what are you doing in that seat, it's Hinata's."

"We don't have assigned seats, I can sit anywhere." The pink haired girl stood up and waved frantically at Sasuke's form entering the classroom, she stopped at spotting Hinata come in with him and the rest of the friends. They all took their seats, except for two, Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Sakura, Hinata did the same and looked around the room for an empty seat. She made her way to where Kiba was sitting but stopped at feeling a hand on her arm, her head swiveled around and looked into Sasuke's dark eyes."Oh, it's okay...I'll go with Kiba and Akamaru." Sasuke glided his hand down Hinata's arm, his fingers went slower as he touched her hands and fingers, then let out a defeated sigh and made his way to his seat. The hyuuga stood still for half a second before she went to her seat, Sakura let out a victorious yell and wrapped her hands around Sasuke's arm, he looked straight ignoring the girl beside him.

The door opened pausing all the conversation, Iruka walked in with a board in hand, "I will announce the teams you are assigned to." Team Ten; Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi. Your Sensei is Asuma Sarutobi. Team Eight; Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and- actually we'll come back to this in a bit." Iruka flipped through the pages in confusion, "Team Seven; Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki- Actually there are two names on both team Eight and team Seven have both of Hinata's and Sakura's name on them. Both of you can fit on either team."

"What?!" Sakura let out a yelp, Hinata's face was filled with confusion, she was surprised as Sakura. Everyone openly stared at the two girls, what would happen next? The door opened once more and in came the Hokage, his face serious yet he gave off a grandfatherly vibe. "Graduating students, as you heard, two girls can be on either team. Miss Hyuga, Miss Haruno, both will take turns on both teams, there will be an evaluation, based on that will determine what team you end up in."

 **Author's Note;** Hello, _Timeless_ here, Hope all of you had a wonderful christmas, and enjoyed this chapter. Im contemplating on the teams..having them the original or different. Hard decisions. Anyways, until the next update, Adios.


	20. Chapter 20 Introductions

Chapter Twenty

Introductions

The Hokage took in both girls expression, the Haruno girl wasn't too happy with the news and the Hyuga had a very confused expression written on her face, her eyes darted back and forth between team eight and seven. "Starting tomorrow all of you will meet your Sensei's, miss Haruno you will be with team seven, while miss Hyuga will be with eight- after a few days you will switch." The Hokage looked at both girls one last time before turning around and walking out the door, as soon as he left voices erupted all over the room, everyone whispering and speaking about the news. The Hokage kept his hands behind his back, and going over his decision, was it a good idea? He thought, opening a door Hiruzen walked inside the Hokage tower and into his office, there awaiting were three Jounin.

Kakashi was by the corner of the room, his back to the wall and posture relaxed and a book missing from his hand. Not much could be said about his expression, it was covered by a thin black cloth, all one could see was his one eye staring blankly at the Hokage. In the middle were Kurenai and Asuma, close together but mere inches separating them, "So, speak up."He took a seat behind his desk, he knew what would come next.

"Are you sure you made the right decision? From the exams it was only right for Sakura to be placed in team seven, why the Hyuga?" Hiruzen breathed in then slowly exhaled, knowing it would happen he made a point to end the conversation as soon as possible but, at the same time see what they had to say about the matter. "Team eight would form a tracking team with Miss Hyuga, but if we placed her with seven it would be great. Two bloodline limits in one team, the Sharingan and the Byakugan."

"Power, is that what you seek?" Kakashi interrupted, he was bewildered, the Hokage was speaking nonsense. He stood up away from the wall, his hands inside his pockets and keeping his posture relaxed.

"No. That is not what I want or seek, Naruto is the host to the Nine tailed fox, and Sasuke the wielder of the sharingan, both teens are unstable. Hinata if placed in that team, she will be able control both boys. She is the balance between both of them, she's known them since they were children."

"And the Haruno girl?" Kurenai questioned, her red red eyes gleaming.

Asuma then piped up with his own opinion,"Her test scores were high almost evenly matched to miss Hyuga. Wouldn't it be better placing people that don't know each other?" The Hokage studied each question and formed the best way to go about things, but every single one lead to many possible outcomes. He sighed, intertwined his fingers and placed them underneath his chin in pensive manner.

Hinata's legs lead her up a flight of stairs and down a corridor, after hearing the news she immediately set out to speak to the Hokage right when the bell for lunch had sounded. All her life she dreamed of being a part of team seven and now she had to the chance to have that- only it felt wrong. She had no right to be in team seven, that was Sakura's place. Sasuke was glad even if he didn't show, Naruto on the other hand wanted Sakura, who could blame him, his crush for the pinkette was obvious. Maybe, maybe if she spoke to the Hokage , just maybe he would reconsider. Up ahead was the door, just another quick turn and- she bumped into a warm soft body, she placed her feet accordingly so she wouldn't fall backwards. A tall feminine figure stood in front of her, their hands were in front of them like a barrier, "Running in the hallways, and a Hyuga. That's a first." Hinata blinked rapidly, Anko Mitarashi, one of the last remaining Tokubetsu Jonin after Toneri attacked. "Hmm, don't speak much?" Anko shrugged her shoulders and moved to the side to continue walking. "I'm sorry!"

"She speaks!" Anko said dramatically, her body turning back to face Hinata, her tan coat bellowing behind her before settling down.

"Tell me kid, what's got you in a rush?"

"Uhm-"

"No, don't tell me, hey how old are you anyways?" The Jonin bent down slightly, her eyes roaming at Hinata's person. Anko looked exactly how she remembered her except for the personality, she lost that and became more serious about things. Hinata was unable to speak, Anko just kept interrupting her. It had been a while since Hinata was graced by Anko's warm yet boisterous personality, reminded her a lot of Naruto.

"Thirteen? Maybe fourteen. Hey you might be eligible for the chunin exams! I'll be the proctor- crap, don't tell anyone I told you that!" The Jounin gave one last wink and made her way to her own destination. As an after thought Anko reminded the Hyuga not be late to wherever she needed to be.

Hinata smiled, turned around a made a dash to the office. Standing before it the Hyuga softly knocked, the voice of the Hokage rang out. Her small hand opened the door and made her way inside, the Hokage was seated in his chair looking right at her. In the air and around her surroundings she could feel the remaining chakra signatures of three people. "Miss Hyuga, how may I be of assistance." The young girl kept her hands at bay, her old habit wanted to come back but she kept still,

" I would like to be placed in team eight, lord Hokage."

"May I know your reasons."

"It just...feels right to be in that team."

The Hokage only made a sound, he kept silent awaiting a further explanation. Hinata unconsciously but her lower lip, a sheet of sweat formed on her forehead. Would the Hokage accept her useless reason? consider it at all? All she could think about was destroying a friendship that lasted through deceits, war and many hardships.

 _That was then, this is now._

The logical side was right but yet she still could not help feeling guilty, guilty that she got in the way of the trio that everyone looked up to.

 _Things have changed, it's no longer that time_. It had finally struck her, it was true; nothing was the same.

Although the young teen in front of him was a Hyuuga he could see so many emotions flash, all of them worrying. His decisions was causing her pain, he could see it in her eyes, the way she looked at her friends when he made the announcement; especially when she looked at the pinkette. Then, her emotions settled, as if accepting everything even though she didn't want to. Hiruzen never expected such reaction, she truly was someone to keep an eye out. "Lord Hokage." Her voice was devoid of any emotion, and still he could pick up the slightest warmth coming from her."I'll go ahead with the test, you have your reasonings for doing this and I shouldn't be questioning it. I'm sorry for taking time out of you, may I be excused?" The Hokage incredulously stared at the Hyuga, his mouth partially opened and gave a nod of his head. Hinata gave a smile, turned around and left the office back to her friends. "What happened?" Kurenai, Kakashi and Asuma all appeared in a flash, each harbouring confused expressions. The three had masked their chakra signatures, and heard the whole conversation between the girl and their leader. The hokage stood up, his feet moving towards the window that showed the village and specifically the academy yard. "Miss Hyuga from the looks of it has come up with a decision."

Kurenai stepped up,"What kind of decision?"

"That is something I want to know as well." The Hokage said as he stared down at a group of friends, all huddled together and eating.

"Place the Hyuga with me, give me a week with her then switch them."

"It'll be too much for one person, even you Kakashi."Asuma faced his friend, his lips playing with his cigarette." The fox, the Sharingan and the Byakugan, you just wanted the Uchiha from the beginning- seemed to me you-."

"Enough, You are all dismissed." Hiruzen didn't bother looking back, the Jounin"s left leaving him alone to think.

Next day

The feeling of seeing her family look at her with proudness in their eyes was something Hinata would need to get used to. Her father was the one who directed those glances at her, it was strange but, at the same time it filled her with something, acceptance? Hanabi let it known to everyone how proud she was of her sister, she had been improving so much in the Hyuga techniques, Hinata was proud in her little sister. The branch family was accepting her, slowly, but they were. There had been so much progress with the main and branch, as each year passed the branch interacted just a little bit more with the main. Neji, he spent most of his days away from both families, opting to be with his team; doing as many missions as possible. Hinata wanted to talk to him, to be with her cousin. _Guess some things don't change._

Hinata walked out the compound, heading to the academy ready to see her old Sensei. when out of nowhere the air was knocked out of her lungs and she landed on the grass with a thud. Two bodies had rammed into her and one of them had a cheeky grin, while the other a slight smirk. Naruto and Sasuke, looked down at her and laughed, she eventually joined in after sending them a weak glare. "Hehe, sorry Hinata. I had to do it, it will be rare to see each other and have fun like this."

'Idiot, you could have hurt her."

"Hey who you calling an idiot, you joined in, it was your idea!" Naruto threw himself himself at Sasuke, both on the floor rolling around. Quickly forgetting about Hinata. Hinata stood up and dusted her clothes. She then tried dissuading the two boys, her gentle voice was covered by the grunts and punches from the two. Having enough she activated her byakugan and attacked their chakra points, their limbs failing them. Once figuring out they had no movements they turned to Hinata, "H-Hinata, hey come one- no wait! where are you going!-

"Are you seriously leaving us!- were going to be late!"

"Hinata!"

"You actually thought I would leave you?" Hinata came up behind them, her clone up ahead disappearing into the wind. " I had to make both of you stop," Hinata moved beside Naruto and Sasuke and laid with them, looking up at the sky as time passed. They soon went their own way, meeting up with their new Sensei's.

Time ticked away, every minute was agonizing, Naruto looked at the clock as the hours passed without any signs of their Sensei. "He's late, we've been waiting for hours, all the others have meet theirs."

"Oh calm down Naruto, he'll be here...any second I hope." Sakura said, she walked up the steps and sat beside Sasuke then wrapped her hands around his arm. Sasuke immediately shook her off and got up away from her, he neared Naruto and gave him a questioning look. The Uzumaki went over to the blackboard, picked up a dusty eraser and placed it right in between the door opening.

Sakura then said, "What are you doing?"

"Since he's late, he deserves something for it." Normally Naruto would not do what he was planning just now, he kept away from those activities after he struck his friendships, but he decided it was good time to do just that.

"He's a Jounin, he would see tha-"

The door slid open, the eraser fell and landed on top of a white haired man, dust particles going everywhere. "My first impression is that I have a bunch of idiots in my care." The white haired Jounin flicked the eraser away and moved away from the door, "Follow me." Which the trio did, they headed to the rooftop, Kakashi told them to sit and proceed with instructions. "So, tell me your likes, dislikes, your hobbies, anything; future, dreams?"

"Uhm, why don't you gives us an example." Sakura asked. Kakashi gave an irritated sigh but gave an example, "I'm Kakashi Hatake, I have many likes and dislikes. I don't intend to tell you about my hobbies and the future? Never gave it much thought, okay who's next?" Naruto opened his mouth, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki..I like ramen, and my friends. What I dislike is the way the village treats me and my hobbies are comparing the different types of ramen, and having fun. As for my future, I want to become Hokage and prove the village I am someone." Naruto concluded with a look at the faces of the past Hokage statues and a hand on his forehead protector. Kakashi then called Sakura, "My name is Sakura Haruno, I-I like, no the person I like is…" Sakura looked over to her left and stared adoringly at Sasuke, he inturn kept looking straight caught up in his own thoughts. Kakashi asked her what her Hobbies and likes and she answered with the same expression,except for her dislikes, "Naruto, I hate Naruto." Naruto gave a short gasp but pushed down his hurt feelings, "What did he ever do to you to make you hate him?" Sasuke questioned, his black eyes filled with disgust and directed at Sakura, her eyes widen in fear and her mouth opened to attempt at an explanation, The Uchiha shook his head and looked forward again but not before seeing Naruto's smiling face. Kakashi watched with a curious expression on his face, he cleared his throat,"Your turn."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I hate when people attack my friends in any way," Sasuke gave a glance at Sakura as he said it, "I don't like many things, as for dreams- more like something I intend to do, restore my clan and destroy a certain someone." Naruto was taken aback. it was the first time he ever heard Sasuke speak that way, especially about killing or attempting to kill someone. It made him worry, had his friend been going through things? How wasn't he aware of it? Did he refer to Itachi? It was the most logical, losing one's clan and in the hands of someone he cared about must have really made a huge impact on Sasuke. Naruto looked at his friend, he looked unrecognizable, his eyes emotionless , no hint of the Sasuke he grew up with. The look in his eyes faded and he was back to normal, he needed to talk to him. Naruto had to inform the others as soon as he could. "Tomorrow we will have a survival exercise before we start the real missions."

"Survival exercise?"

"Of the twenty seven graduates, only nine will actually be accepted as Genin. The others will be be sent back to the academy. You have a 66% of passing. We will meet at five am, bring your ninja gear, oh and don't have anything for breakfast." With that said Kakashi disappeared leaving the trio sitting with haunting expressions.

 **Author's Note.** _Timeless_ here, Hope everyone had a great New years! _**LilyVampire**_ ; I appreciate those lovely reviews! Thank you. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, Until the next update. Adios.

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	21. Chapter 21 Bell Test

Chapter Twenty One

Bell Test

 **Author's Note;** I want to apologize ahead of time incase there are grammatical errors and other things. Been really busy at work and didn't have enough time to post this. But, here it is, hope that you enjoy it.

Naruto paced back and forth thinking on the conversation he had with his friends, more so with Hinata. Even after speaking with her it still made no sense, Hinata wasn't surprised in the least, it was as if she was expecting it. If she was expecting it why didn't he? It pained him to see his friend reverting back to the emotionless boy from before. The good side of all of that was that Sasuke was still with them, playing but more secluded but still there. Hinata had mentioned that he should just let him be, he would come around, but her eyes told another story; she wasn't buying it either. Would it come down to him, would he have to speak to him, ask for explanations? Naruto just felt like he did...he decided that as soon as Hinata was on the team he would ask Sasuke only then, Hinata was fairly good at stopping their bickering.

A low rumble caused Naruto to come back to his surrounding, his blue eyes peered down and remembered why his stomach was making sounds. No breakfast, tch, he wished he had eaten that piece of bread that was sitting on his kitchen table. "You're making me dizzy with all your pacing." Sasuke called, Naruto scowled and kept pacing, his patience at its breaking point. Kakashi was late, it was already seven and no signs of him, the Uzumaki could tell Sasuke and Sakura were getting impatient as well. If his sensei said to be there at five, why in the world was he not there? All three of them were ready to commence their last test to prove they were worthy.

"You're late!" Sakura exclaimed, both Sasuke and Naruto turned and looked at Kakashi who looked aloof, he scratched his head while looking up at the sun's position,. "Hmm...a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way. Anyways, let's start." Both Naruto and Sakura stared incredulously at their Sensei as he walked past them, took out a clock and placed it ontop of a wooden post. "The alarm is set for noon, Your assignment is simple, you just have to take these bells from me." Kakashi pulled out two bes and held them up, he shook them slightly eliciting a jingle from them. "If you don't get them by noon, you go without lunch and I will tie you to those posts and eat my lunch in front of you." Sakura's eyes shot open at a realization, "There's only two bells and three of us." Kakashi let out a quick chuckle then turning serious again.

"Two will pass and the last one will be tied to a post or all of you might fail..now, you may use any form of weapon." Sakura then said.

"But those are dan-"

"If you are not ready to kill me then you are not fit to be a ninja." Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in worry. Kakashi took the string holding the bells and tied them to his pants,

"When I say start you may begin. Start." Sasuke and Sakura each sprinted away, and Naruto was left standing carefully observing Kakashi. The silver head Jounin raised an eyebrow, he moved his hand down to one of his pockets and took out a small book. Naruto took out a kunai, the blade turning in his hand. Naruto dashed towards his teacher, the weapon ready to strike. he slashed as he neared Kakashi but was all too soon stopped, the blade was out of Naruto's grasp and in Kakashi's hand, the book neatly opened with his other hand.

"Coming at me without thinking, predictable." Naruto glared and gave a slight smirk, he made a hand sign and a dozen Naruto's appeared all of them heading to Kakashi. The Jounin single handedly took down most of the clones, none managed a hit and he was only using taijutsu. Naruto was getting agitated, nothing seemed to be working and it was getting on his nerves, his chakra was getting low and he could feel it, the soft whispers of the nine tails was calling him out again, he could use the chakra but going anywhere near that would only endanger him. With his last clone gone, Naruto stepped back and hid behind the trees. Satisfied with the information be just got. "A one on one won't do the trick, even with your clones. " Sasuke silently said, he had been watching the whole exchange, trying to see what their sensei could do- he wasn't disappointed. "We need a plan."

"Yes, I have something in mind already., but what do you suggest." Sasuke asked, Naruto was no Shikamaru, but he when the need arose he could come up with good plans. Naruto thought for a second, "Sakura, were going to need her for this to-" Naruto paused at hearing a shriek coming from his right, "Never mind, this is what I have in mind." Naruto then explained what his idea was, Sasuke would add his own opinions until they both agreed on something.

Kakashi shook his head at Sakura, she was on the ground weeping like a child and he was guilty for a second. The genjutsu he used on her was mild...easy to detect and easy to break, the thought of Sasuke hurt must have hit hard. She would have to get used to seeing that if she ended up in the team, the Hyuga- he wondered what she would do. In due time. Kakashi looked at the clock, noon was nearing and none of the teens had showed up for a while. He shrugged then turned the page of the book and went back to reading, he stopped mid sentence, looked over his shoulder and saw Sasuke standing with two weapons in his hands. The Jounin was in no sense worried, his book was still out and he made no move to reach for anything.

Sasuke stepped around and faced his sensei, he threw a shuriken which was easily caught by Kakashi. The Uchiha took more weapons out, sending them to their marker, Kakashi moved to his right missing them, "Simple attacks won't do anything!" Sasuke chuckled as he sent a kuani whizzing through the air and cutting through a rope, seconds was all Kakashi had to move away from the hoard of weapons coming his way. The Uchiha's figure appeared behind Kakashi, he threw a hard quick to his sensei's face, Kakashi blocks the kick with his left hand and takes a hold of his ankle with his right, the uchiha not giving up, twisted his body and sent a hook but that too was blocked. Kakashi released his hold on Sasuke and backs away, the Uchiha squatted, his eyes sending daggers, he raised his arms in front of him and caught two large shurikens that barely missed Kakashi. _This is getting interesting,_ Kakashi thought, he wondered where h got the shuriken. And who sent them.

It was nearing the time for their last stand, the last part to their plan, now or never. Sasuke held the two shurikens, feeling the weight of them, he smirked and took a deep breath. Arms ready he threw them at Kakashi,one at a time, they passed around; leaving Kakashi confused, Sasuke immediately after hurdling the shuriken he placed his hands into the appropriate signs, brought his hand up to his mouth and exhaled. red-orange flames appeared, they fanned out in an effort to reach skin, to burn and to damage. The Jounin could have sworn that no Genin had the sufficient chakra to create such power, it was just too strong, temporarily distracted the Shuriken turned back around. With a poof the weapons turned into two Naruto's, their hands reached for their sensei's head and used their momentum , sending Kakashi crashing to the ground- Sasuke went to help Naruto, a sense of triumph settled in his stomach. finally, they had proven to be ninja, Sasuke was one step closer to achieving his goal..

"I have to give it to you two, from all that i have tested, you two, are the only ones who have come close to getting the bells." Kakashi said, the bells nicely tied at his pants. sasuke and naruto lamely watched as Kakashi took out two bentos and handed them one to both boys, Sakura was tied to one of the wooden posts, her stomach rumbling with hunger. After the boy had taken down Kakashi, it was declared they had won. Only, that the Kakashi they had attacked was only a clone, the real one had effectively taken them down. The Jounin knew it was a close call, they were so close if only they had used their remaining partner, maybe then they could have passed. Kakashi shook his head, Sakura's green eyes darted back and forth between the Uchiha and Uzumaki, her mouth open and drool coming out of the corners of her mouth. She struggled, she tried shimming or at least use her hands to scratch and itch she had, _useless, I couldn't even see through a genjutsu-a weak one too._ Her head fell forwards in a defeated sigh, her head shot straight up at Kakashi's next words, " I have decided I won't send you back to the academy,"

"You mean, we passed? All three of us?" Sakura asked, Kakashi's eyes wrinkled as if he were smiling,  
"Yes, all three of you are being dropped from the !" The trio did nothing to conceal their fury, Naruto protested, he yelled at his sensei asking why. "You can't do that! you said if we didn't get the bells you would send us back to the academy, you can't just change your mind."

"Why do you think you are assigned a squad? A three man team, did you ever think about that?"

"Team work…" Sasuke answered.

"But, we did! we used teamw-"

"No, you and Sasuke did, you left Sakura. Tell me if you had heard Hinata scream in place of Sakura, would you have gone to her aid?" Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other then to Sakura, they only held her stare for a few seconds before looking elsewhere. Kakashi had his answer, Sakura was hit with a sudden realization. Team seven, was she even good of a ninja? All she managed to accomplish was nothing: just fainted while Naruto and Sasuke did their own thing. She was no part of team seven. "You will come across many missions, different scenarios, all of which you all have to work together and help each other out."

The trio had a faraway gaze, each thinking about what Kakashi had said. He was right in every way. The boy especially felt guilty for not thinking about Sakura.

"I will give you another try, you have three hours to complete the exercise. Eat and rest. Sakura, you won't get to eat, as punishment for not even attacking me. And if any of you feed her, you will be disqualified. I'll be back in a few." Sakura sulked even more, as soon as Kakashi left, both boy opened the box and began eating, savoring each bite. The pinkette closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the birds, but even that could not stop the smell of the food from filling her nostrils. "Ugh" Sasuke looked over at the girl, he raised an eyebrow when he heard her stomach churning with hunger. He sighed, looked around for his Sensei then over her his food.. Naruto still feeling quite bad, he also did the same thing. Sakura then said,

" No! Sasuke, Naruto. Don't you'll be disqualified. I'm fine, I'm on a diet." Her stomach growled in response. Naruto quirked an eyebrow, questioning her. "Take it, he's not here, he won't know."

"But-"

Naruto silenced her, pushing food in her mouth. She stood still for a moment then chewed the food. enjoying the sweet exact moment Kakashi appeared in, the wind blowing hazardly around him, he looked very much menacing, "You have broken my rules, and now you will pay. The bright sunny sky darkened in color, deep black clouds appeared throwing lightning all over the place, The silver haired jounin clasps his hands into signs, "Any last words?"

Sakura visibly shook, Naruto and Sasuke glared, both scared and anxious.

"Wait- it was my fau-

"No! We are a squad, we are a team."

"Yeah! We decided to give her our food. TOGETHER!"

Kakashi stepped forward, eyeing his three pupils, "That's your excuse? Good. You passed." The trio were shocked, confused, too many emotions to keep up. the thunderous clouds disappeared and made way to the bright blue sky. Kakashi saw their questioning looks and answered. "You were a team, you saw through deception, those who break the rules are considered scum, that's true but those who leave their friends are worse." The jounin then walked over to Sakura and released her from her binds, "Now sakura, this doesn't mean you are officially part of this team." The pinkette sadden at the news but smiled either way, to her she already was. the four people turned around at voices calling their names, Team Eight was waving to them, akamaru barking like always. "Hinata! Guess what? We passed!" Naruto shouted, he saw as her smile grew, he sprinted her way and threw himself at his friends. Sasuke followed but decided to not throw himself like naruto. Sakura's eyes glistened with tears, she stepped back to leave but was stopped. "Sakura. Come join us, you must be hungry." Sakura was surprised, Hinata Hyuga was asking her to join them, her group of friends. she'd done it before but without permission. without thinking she followed the friends.

 **Author's Note;** had to add something more, Zabuza and Haku are going to be making an appearance, it's going to get good. Till next time. Adios.


	22. Chapter 22 The Ninja From The Mist

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Ninja From The Mist

For the past week or so, Hinata was tasked to be with her former team mates, former- she was now with two of the members of team eight. It would be different, she was so used to Kiba and Shino that thinking about leaving them, being far away from them, caused her grief. Many things would happen, if she was placed in team eight would be an advantage. Be closer to Sasuke and Naruto, experience new things with them, get to know who they were on teams. It was dreadful, not knowing what would be ahead of her. She heard the stories of team seven, their adventures, but living them was out of her control. This is where she would be blind, not knowing what she had in store. Some way she knew what would happen, the attack she had a while back proved she and her friends would go through something dangerous. The drowning, the pain, it was connected to the mission they were assigned as a team. Naruto could not handle anymore low rank missions, so he spoke up when Hinata joined.

The trio walked behind their sensei, Naruto had his hands behind his head and Sasuke kept his hands in his pockets. Hinata's baggy sweater was halfway open with a black shirt underneath and a thin fishnet fabric on top. "Now when we enter be on your best behavior." Kakashi told the three but Sasuke and Hinata could tell it was more so directed at Naruto. The Jounin swung open the door and strode in with his students behind him, they spread out beside their Sensei. The third Hokage was seated in his usual chair, scrolls and stacks of papers all littered on his table, light smoke came out a pipe that was loosely held between the Hokage's lips. Iruka was seated beside him, he gave a smile to the group. "Iruka Sensei." Naruto called after noticing him. Iruka only shook his head but smiled either way.

"Hey! no- don't read that!" Naruto interrupted the Hokage as he was about to read the team's next mission, a low ranking one to be precise."Please, I'm tired of babysitting, give us something worth it- a real mission."

"How dare you speak to the Hokage in that manner, much less demand new missions." Iruka called out as he stood and pointed a finger at Naruto.

Naruto had his hands on his face, pulling his hands down and dragging the skin. Hinata gave an apologetic glance to the Hokage.

"You are fresh Genin. Missions are assigned accordingly to each individual's status. Genin receive D- rank missions."

"Why, just once, well prove to you. We are capable of doing a higher ranking."

Hiruzen laughed quietly and deeply, Naruto looked up in confusion.

"Naruto wants to prove something. So be it. I'm giving you a C-rank mission- objective is to protect a man, bodyguards essentially." The trio perked up at the news, C- rank missions was not something to take lightly. It would be Hinata's first C- rank mission as a genin, she wondered who they had to guard, why did he need to be protected, it could be from thief's that showed up on the road.

"Really?! Who? A princess, a councilor?"

"Don't be so impatient, I'll bring him out now, send in our visitor." The Hokage ordered, off to the side a man stood up and opened a door, out came a older man with a bottle of sake in his hand. He took a chug out of it, liquid running down his full beard. Silver hair covered his head in a spiky hair style and a thin rope around his forehead. A pair of glasses set on top of the bridge of his nose. "This is what I'm going to get as protection? A pretty girl, a brooding kid and a shrimp?"

"Hey, who are you calling shrimp?" Naruto asked, Sasuke looked down at him and raised and eyebrow. "Me!" Naruto indignantly sputtered, he took a step forward to confront the old man but was held back by his Sensei. He struggled a bit until finally he just stopped and stepped away. The old man took another swing, ignoring the brats before him. "My names Tazuna, a master bridge maker. I'm building a bridge that will change lives and I expect to be returned safely- even if you have to risk your lives."

Outside the village a vast pathway with greenery on either side greeted three ninja in their first ever high ranking mission. Naruto was the most thrilled, never having been outside the village was a whole new world for him. Thrilling. Hinata smiled at Naruto's expression, she still remembered the day she last saw that face. She shook her head, the gory images receding back to the deepest recess of her thoughts. "What team do you like better?" Sasuke question, he stood beside her with his arms across his chest. Hinata's eyes flickered to her friend and thought really hard at his question. "I can't really say, I'll make sure to think on it." Sasuke nodded and turned back to the scenery.

"Hm, protect, yeah right. Especially that kid, by the looks of it never stepped out of the village."

"Hey! Insulting a ninja, wrong move old man." Naruto whirled around facing his client, the old man only shrugged.

"Learn to respec-"

"Respect. You? You're nobody, just a low ranking Ninja." Tazuna said, his voice drawing out the 'nobody' longer than he should. Anger surfaced and Naruto clenched his hands to keep the anger at bay, "I'll be somebody, and when that day comes you will have to respect me. Naruto Uzumaki, remember it." Tazuna was going to say something but stopped, Naruto picked up the last remaining gear and placed them in his backpack and began walking away from the group and the village.

The trip was silent and boring, Sasuke noticed how Naruto's finger itched to touch his weapon, he wanted action he concluded. "Hey, you do realize there are no battles in a C-rank mission right?" Naruto paused and let Sasuke catch up to him, he then replied, "I know...but you never know." The Uchiha looked skeptical but kept his guard up just in case. Hinata walked beside Tazuna and her Sensei, her eyes gliding to Tazuna and picking up his look of worry, right after Sasuke's comment to Naruto. A bad feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, she activated her byakugan, nothing showed up. _Why Are you worried?_ After several minutes the group passed over a short bridge then continued their way, Hinata's eyes widen in fear, the ground was dry and the sky was blue as it could be; no signs of rain whatsoever. So, why was there a puddle of water? Hinata's mind raced as they passed the water, she whirled around to to alert her Sensei but it was too late. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw two figures rise up from the water. One sprinted and jumped in the air with a chain like weapon trailing behind him, heading straight for Kakashi. The Chain wrapped around Kakashi's body, the spikes breaking skin, out of the metal clad hand of the other figure, another chain shot out and did the same as the other. "Now." Five seconds later the chain ripped through Kakashi's body leaving a bloody mess of body parts on the dirt.

Naruto froze, Kakashi, a jounin- easily defeated. What was he supposed to do. The situation was not like the training exercises they had at the academy, he knew he had to do something. Just a few minutes ago he wanted action and now he had it. _Move._ He demanded of his body when he felt two presences behind him. "Now, it's your turn." His blood ran cold, his body still in a state of shock. Naruto managed to turn and saw as the chains were heading his way. Sasuke took a leap as he reached a certain height he sent a shuriken, trapping both chains on a tree. The Uchiha landed in a crouch, a new weapon in hand. The two men released their chains and each made a dash to their target. Naruto finally back to his senses took out a kunai ready for his attacker. Hinata placed herself in front of Tazuna, her bloodline limit activated and posture ready to strike. His armored hand reaching for her, his metal fingers only inches away. Blue chakra enveloped her hands, in a series of movements of her arms , the chakra burst outwards creating a dome shaped protection. The metal hand crashed onto the dome, pieces of metal flying everywhere. Kakashi then appeared, his arm going around the man's neck and locking him in place, on his other arm was the other man. Hinata vanished the dome, she fell to one knee and settled her breathing. _Too much chakra._ "Hinata!"

Two figures settled themselves around Hinata, each of them with worried expression. She sent them a smile and reassured them that she was fine. After a while she stood up and noticed Naruto's bleeding hand. "Naruto stand still, these ninja have poison in their claws, we need to take it out of you quickly." Kakashi said as he held onto the two ninja, he whirled around and faced Tazuna. Naruto stepped away, he looked down at his wound and wondered how he didn't take notice of it. Hinata brought up her hands and placed them above his wound, her hands glowed green and the affected area soon stitched itself back together, only not by her doing. _The nine tails._ "Hinata, you're worrying me, is it that serious?" Naruto asked concerned, Hinata schooled her features and assured him he was fine. Sasuke and the others stared in wonder. The silver haired ninja coughed and brought his attention back to their client, "Tazuna." The old man inched away in worry, "Yeah? What?"

"We need to talk."

Hinata worriedly glanced at Tazuna, expecting to hear an explanation from him but he said nothing. He like the others looked at the two ninjas that were tied up to a tree, watching them with intention to kill. Kakashi's voice filled the silent air, "They're chunin from the village hidden in the mist. Their specialty is relentless attack, they keep fighting no matter the sacrifice."

One of the men spoke up, their voice muffled by their face mask. "How did you figure out our ambush?"

"The puddle?" The three genin answered.

"You three noticed?" Kakashi asked, they all nodded in affirmation. Before he could feel proud , Tazuna bombarded the three with questions and insults. "You three noticed and said nothing!? I could have died! You're all idiots- not qualified to be called a nin-" His voice stopped short, the front of his thin shirt was held by a hand and a kunai grazing his skin. "Died? You are alive because of them, they could have been killed because of _you_."

"Hmpf, me?"

"Tell me, why are they after you? After all you're their target." Kakashi let go and placed his weapon back in its place. Hinata gathered everything that was said and tried to piece things together. Tazuna talked about a bridge and mentioned how it would change lives, if he was to be murdered the bridge would never be made. Who would not want that? Hinata tried remembering things from the past, all the villages, people. Nothing came to mind. "When you submitted your form to us, you only marked down standard protection. You didn't say there were ninja hunting you down, if you had mentioned that this mission would be classified as a B-rank mission. Tazuna kept his gaze on the floor. "You have your reasons, but lying to us is not acceptable."

Far away from the group, hidden in the depth of the village of the mist was a man lounged in his chair and attending his clients. Two men, a short one and a tall one faced him, ordering him around as if he were their servants. He was getting fed up with their yackin and insults about how he ran his business. "Stop your whining." The short man stood in place as a massive broadsword came forth just missing his neck, yet his face showed fear, "This time I'll go personally."

"Yeah? He's guarded by a high ranking ninja, and since your first attempt failed, they will be expecting any of you now. It will take certain set of skills to def-"  
"Who do you think you're dealing with? I'm Zabuza Momochi, the demon of the hidden mist."

Author's note; Ah yeah it's getting good. I had this chappie completed pretty early, I'm proud on how it turned out. Anyways, hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and made your Monday brighter. Until next update, adios.


	23. Chapter 23 Zabuza

Chapter Twenty Three

Zabuza

Back and forth, side to side, the movements were simple and soothing but it caused sickness. As slow as they were going the nausea still hit Hinata, boat traveling would always be her weakness, she could never enjoy them. She wanted it to be over, to feel land beneath her feet and walk and run as much as she wanted. Her hand wrapped itself around her middle while the other held onto Sasuke's arm to steady herself. "Are you alright?" Hinata looked over and saw Sasuke's questioning stare, she was going to reply but the boat man beat her to it. "Shh, keep quiet."

"Why?" Naruto blurted out, the boat man sighed and kept on rowing while he shook his head.

"Gato." Tazuna whispered after a while, his expression downcasted and away from the group. Kakashi reacted to the name, "You need to tell me why he's hired Ninja to assassinate you. If you don't tell me I'm going to call off this mission once we land on shore." The group looked at their client and waited until he spoke."Gato is a businessman, very powerful tycoon from a famous company. Beneath all of that is a ruthless man, he sells drugs and contraband using gangs and ninja to do his bidding." Finally information was given, Hinata was able to recall from her many lessons about the nations surrounding them. No wonder Gato was after Tazuna, he posed a threat to his entire empire.

"A year or so ago he came to our island and used his resources to take control over transport and shipping. What he fears is the bridge, if its complete it will join us to the mainland and will break his control." The shinobi sat in silence, all of them trying to comprehend the extent of the mission. They were genin, not chunin or jounin, they barely escaped alive. Who knew what the next ninja would do. Kakashi assessed his students, Sasuke was debating if they should continue while Naruto seemed oblivious and Hinata; she accepted the outcome? Kakashi was not sure what he saw. She looked ready for anything, she was prepared to fight. Why? What surprised Kakashi next was something he never expected from Hinata. "We are only genin, they will send jounin level shinobi. We might die." The Hyuga's white orbs looked straight at their client, "Although you have lied to us, we would benefit from the success of the mission."

"How so?" Kakashi whispered.

"Not just us the village, once the bridge is complete and the island united to the mainland, trading with konoha will increase, more than it is now and the land of waves will increase their profit." It took a while to convince Kakashi but he ultimately agreed but only if they were on guard and listened to his every instruction, the genin agreed.

The island in which Tazuna lived was beautiful, it was the only word Hinata could muster at the moment. She'd seen it before but that was in a different state than now. Trees rose above the water, some of the roots were visible. Children played, fishermen were in their boats awaiting their next catch. Overall it was amazing, Naruto was in awe, the sights were new to him. After setting foot on land the group began to walk to their destination, delivering Tazuna was their utmost priority. This time around everyone was on alert, Kakashi paused and ordered the group to duck. A broad sword whooshed past the shinobi and barely missed Tazuna, the sword embedded itself high on a tree trunk. In a woosh a tall man was standing with their back to them; tan skin and spiky brown hair. A low raspy voice emitted from the man, "The copycat ninja and his band of ...children? I figured I would have a hard time but I'll dispose of you four rather quickly. Starting with the blond." Kakashi signaled the genin to take their places. instantly the three moved and surrounded Tazuna with their weapons at ready. Naruto choked up, the same paralyzing feeling settled in, he griped the kunai tighter, bringing himself back to their opponent.

Hinata looked at her sensei, his posture was rigid but he looked calm and relaxed at the same time. Briefly Hinata activated her bloodline, he was alone...for now. The group waited for an attack, for instruction. "I always wanted to fight against a Sharingan user." Sasuke looked up in alert, his sharingan had not awaken yet and a psycho wanted to fight him already. He had no time to ponder on it since then man spoke again, this time making Sasuke look at Kakashi.

"The Sharingan in your left eye, there has to be a story behind it." Kakashi kept quiet, talking was out of the question with the man they were treading with.

"Zabuza Momochi."

"Ah, you know me then. You're going to hand me the old man." Kakashi took that as a threat, his left hand came up and pulled over his headband from his covered eye. A red eye with the sharingan clearly visible, a vertical scar ran down his eyebrow to the top of his cheek. The Uchiha let out a shaky breath and stared in surprise, so many things took his thoughts, would Kakashi be an Uchiha? If not why did he have it?

"Enough talking," Zabuza turned around and crouched on the sword, "A fight we shall have then." Zabuza disappeared with his sword, he was standing on top of water not too far away from the group. His sword was strapped behind him, water splashed all over him as he had his hand in the air while the other formed in a hand sign. "Ninja art, hidden mist jutsu." Right after dense mist appeared, surrounding everyone, the visibility low. Hinata automatically activated byakugan, the fog tampered with her bloodline but she was able to distinguish him in a way.

"Don't let your guard down, Hinata inform me when and if you see him."

"Yes, Kakashi sensei."

Kakashi scooted closer to his students, "He will come after me first-"

"Who is he?"

"He's the ex leader of the assassination unit, master of the silent kill technique. My Sharingan won't be able to keep track of it. For that same reason I need you to be alert." The genin don't have to be told twice. Kakashi soon was out of their sight, the fog getting thicker and thicker each passing second. Hinata knew Kakashi was close, Zabuza on the other hand kept disappearing each time she found him. Goosebumps appeared all over her body, Zabuza's cold distant voice was heard in different locations. He began to name off body parts, locations where he would cause the most damage. The fog disappeared, Kakashi's burst of chakra expelled it.

Sasuke knew of hatred and vengeance but the feeling of death in the air, the sense of killing was too much. A part of him wanted it to end, to feel safe and secure, ending it right now would be an alternate choice. _Why am I thinking this way?_ "Snap out of it! I will protect you. I won't let a comrade die." The jounin declared. Sasuke's sinking feeling partially went away.

"EVERYONE MOVE!" Hinata shouted, Zabuza had infiltrated their circle, his figure in between the four. Soon after he appeared three of the four ran away, all but one. Hinata turned her body around, her fingers ready to strike. She had seen Zabuza get close, she could have alerted the rest but she had to at least try to hit him some way. Chakra infused hands, she was suddenly thrust upwards her fingers barely grazing the enemies skin. Her white orbs captured Kakashi's kunai impaled in Zabuza torso, the impact of hitting a tree sucked the breath out of her lungs, she laid on the floor momentarily then got up with shaky legs. _I Had him._ Hinata glanced up, water poured out of the wound and Zabuza vanished into water. Kakashi felt as a sword sliced through him, cutting him in half he then vanished into a puddle of water.

 _Hinata._

An echo, barely audible, familiar.

 _Byakugan princess._

Body frozen, eyes darting- there by a tree. Snowy white hair, gentle features and unseeable eyes.

 _Tell me, have you changed anything. I'll still come after you. You're not the only one who came back._

Not real. . Not there. Toneri was not there, he was miles away. It couldn't-

 _I can. I'm here._

Hinata blamed it on the memories, she'd forgotten to take a vial before getting down the boat. It was just the memories. Then again; no pain accompanied the voices or memories. It's real. Why? Ignoring Toneri, she made her way to Tazuna and guarded him. After that everything was a blur. Concentrating was hard already but it got worse, from her peripheral vision she could still make out Toneris shape. If he was there how in the world did he jump back too? Did more people come through? Yes, then who?

 _Not right now._ Hinata closed her eyes, she could feel them. Feel unwelcome memories and her own combining with events taking place at that moment. With shaking hands she unstrapped her pack and reached for a vial. Her hand came out not with a vial but pieces of it, purple liquid dripped from her fingers. _No._

 _Remember that day with your sister._

Hinata placed her pack behind her, kunai ready for anything.

 _You do remember._

For just a second Hinata was lost to the world. She managed to see Kakashi get trapped inside a bubble made of water. Suffocation, like she remembered but he wasn't drowning. Naruto, Sasuke her mission was replaced by something greater.

"Hanabi!" Hinata let out a shriek, Toneri held hanabi at arms length, his pale hand on her slender shoulder. "Hinata?"

"It's going to be okay. I'm here."

"He took my eyes." Wrapped around the youngest Hyuga's head were bandages. Toneri opened his eyes , Hinata let out a gasp watching Hanabi's eyes on someone who didn't deserve them. "Have you thought of my proposition?"

Hinata looked down in defeat, she thought about all the possible outcomes and ways to stop things from happening. Could she do it? she had to. it was for hanabi and her clan. If only she had listened from the beginning maybe then they would still be alive. It was her only choice. Toneri had the upper hand, now or never. Hinata stepped forward, she upholstered every weapon she had and walked tentatively to Toneri. With his other hand he raised it up and placed it on the side of her face. His eyes were transfixed on her, he barely notice a figure spring out of nowhere with a katana in hand. The person pushed Hinata away, she skidded on the floor before stopping. Her white orbs watched as the katana dug itself into her little sister's body and passing through Toneri's. A piercing scream filled the empty room, two figures laid on the floor lifeless. Hinata stood up, activated byakugan and charged towards the man that killed his sister. It was going fine, she would have saved everyone, it would have been over. Why did they stop her why kill the only family she had left. The sounds of boots made the man swirl around, Hinata was taken aback, it was Sasuke. "Why?" Hinata gave him no time to answer, with chakra infused hands she began striking. His Sharingan clearly visible he anticipated every strike but not all of them, he was hit once or twice before he had enough.

Sasuke took an opportunity while she was distracted and pinned her right arm behind her back, "Look at them, It's not her." Hinata could see it was her sister, there was no way her bloodline limit showed her anything else, she saw right through it. Sasuke reared back as her head connected with his jaw, Hinata now free she fired away, adding more and more chakra into every hit. "Stop." Hinata did just that, the sharingan gleaming with authority making her obey.

"Your byakugan has been tampered with, and with your all seeing eyes you can't even see it." The hyuga grinded her teeth in anger. "She's dead, it was a trap. Her body was left in the old Hyuuga compound."

"Liar! That's all you do...lie." Sasuke caught Hinata's limp body as she lost consciousness, he took her away, back to their base where her sister's body awaited for her.

 **Author's Note** : I was kind eh about this chapter, but after revising it again I liked it, partially.

I noticed that as a reader I wouldn't want to read a story where the plot is the same just with different people on teams, This is a time travel and shit is bound to go different, starting from this chapter and onwards things won't be canon, -dont worry it won't be too different. Time to spice things up. Well hopd you enjoyed this chappie, wondering if Toneri really is there? or is it just Hinata's imagination? Till next update. Adios.


	24. Chapter 24 It begins

**Chapter Twenty Four**

 **It begins.**

"Don't, if it wasn't for you, they would still be here!"

Shisui backed down, Eiji was lashing at him and for good reason. In any situation involving the 'dead' Hyuga he would enjoy talking back or be the one accusing , but this time it was different. He let Eiji yell at him, it was his fault. He was better, he…letting his emotions get the better of him caused the situation they were in. Now, two Uchihas were missing, two of the last ones they managed to save.

"We had a plan, it was coordinated. What happened?" Eiji asked as he left the entrance of their hideout and surveyed the open area.

Honestly, many things happened. Since Shisui manage to convince both Hinata and Eiji to let his remaining clan to wake up. Of course they altered their memories but that still had no guarantee that they wouldn't somehow remember. Shisui wanted something better for his clan, he wanted his bloodline to be better, to forget past rivalries and just be at peace. It worked, gradually both Hyuga and Uchiha trained the children, although they kept them hidden from the truth they could tell they had begun to get curious.

"How did they remember? The girl?"

"She had a dream about the massacre, she was there." Eiji's eyes closed, trying to ease the anger. "She activated the Sharingan didn't she? To be expected and did the boy too?"

Shisui shook his head, Eiji visibly relaxed but he went on. "They couldn't have gotten far, no traps have been activated and the perimeter looks intact."

For over an hour they two separated and secured the whole area, Eiji used little of his byakugan, having it damaged in protecting Hinata. The scars were an added reminder. "Let us leave!" Eiji halted, his ears perked up at the feminine voice. He discreetly activated his byakugan, pain shot through his eyes and he quickly deactivated it. It was enough for him to pinpoint the two children and an additional one. "Why did you leave?"

"Why are you keeping us locked away?" The girl countered. Even for a young child , the girl was smart.

"What makes you think we are doing that. You've been out in the woods because we let you. That is not locked away." The Hyuga turned his body and his white eyes bore into two red ones. If Eiji had any reaction to the Sharingan he didn't show it, he had to calm the situation as soon as possible. Who knew what the girl could do. Behind her stood a boy with black shaggy hair, bangs cascading down his face and covering his eyes. His small hands were around the girl's hand, holding to it like a lifeline.

"Tell me, once out what would you do? Where would you go?"

"I-I-" those were her last words before she dropped to the ground. The little boy terrified shook her limp body, he moved away as Shisui landed gracefully on the ground, Sharingan visible. With one look the boy was unconscious. "It will happen again."

"I know." The Uchiha scooped the girl and placed her over his shoulder then did the same with the boy. "We'll seal their shar-."

"Seal! Stop! What is up with you Hyuga's and sealing things away?Hm?" These are my people, I will not seal their Sharingan. They will not suffer the same fate as the Hyuga." The Uchiha faced the Hyuga, glaring at him.

"Shisui, that is not what I meant."

"No-not what you meant? Tell me _Eiji_ what did you mean!" With quick steps Eiji was in front of Shisui, his index finger touching the Uchiha's neck. "You bastard." Shisui let out, his bloodline limit disappeared and fell forward. Eiji captured him and disappeared with the three Uchiha's. Eiji decided a meeting should be held with Hinata, maybe then Shisui would calm down. He understood where Shisui was coming from, he helped but it wasn't enough for him. He wanted more, what more could be want, his people were safe, secure, living. Eiji couldn't really blame him, he felt the same, trapped. He wanted out he wanted to be around others...he wished that once Hinata completed her mission he could come out of hiding and start anew.

For five years, the traitor named Itachi Uchiha, took it upon himself to learn everything and anything that had to do with the Akatsuki. It was a notorious group and knew they were not to be messed with. They had a plan, he infiltrated it and now was a current member. All he had to do was play his cards right. It was dark, the sky was littered with tiny stars, he wished to forget but alas he had important things to do. Summoning his raven, he gave specific instructions and sent it on its way, waiting, he could wait. Itachi sat down, his cloak spreading around him. He shut his eyes and just listened, insects and nocturnal animals creeped out of their save homes and scavenged the area. Away from his group he let his guard down, guilt filtered through him, he wanted to feel, to know pain... to be human. His right hand went up to his face, he placed it on his cool skin and let it descend down the contours of his face. _It will work, it will._ Face neutral once again, he looked up the sky and buried the pain back inside him, letting it consume him once more before he could let it out again. He often wondered if he was a monster like all the members of the akatsuki? He felt like one of them, they had their reasons to exist, same as him. Did he follow their ideals, to a certain extent yes. _Sasuke,_ everything he was doing was for him, for a better place for his brother. What did he look like now? Was he happy? His remaining clan how were they? Itachi halted his thoughts from going any further, concentrating was his main priority. For now he would just watch the night sky as it changed into yellows, oranges and soon to the baby blue.

The low hissing, the wet dark cave did nothing to Danzo. It was to be expected from someone such as Orochimaru, a joke really. Although he preferred the company of others he had to speak to the Sanin, he'd be the only one to know about certain things. "I see you've returned." Orochimaru stepped out the shadows, his snake like eyes taking up Danzo, he held his position and placed a poker face.

"That eye. Shisui Uchiha's?" The Sanin's nimble fingers reached for the bandaged eye, Danzo turned his head away. Orochimaru grinned in satisfaction then turned around making Danzo follow behind.

"What do you need from me?" Danzo glanced around the grand cave, all around were test tubes, operating machines and jars full of body parts. "I want something, and I need your expertise. " Orochimaru was intrigued now, anything that Danzo wanted added on to himself always brought a smile to his face. "What do I get in return?" He licked his lips in anticipation, he wanted many things and Danzo knew how to get them. Maybe a rare specimen, a person, an eye. The Sanin recalled that one time when he spied on a group of young children, three had caught his eye. The Uchiha , the tailed fox and the Hyuga, even those other ones had potential. In a flourish Orochimaru opened his arms, " I have many things, what can you give that I don't already have?"

The pain came back in waves, the next one worse than the last. _Snap out of it_ , Hinata desperately told herself, she wasn't there, they were just painful memories.

"Your girl, she's in shock." A masked ninja said as they pointed with their head to a general direction. The four men looked back and there Hinata was, hands on her head and eyes shut tight, her body in a fetal position. "She looks like she's in pain, probably hurt." The masked ninja dropped down the tree and landed beside Zabuza's defeat corpse. Naruto sprinted to Hinata's side, his eyebrows scrunched up in worry. "Kakashi Sensei, she won't respond." Sasuke made his way to his friends , his ears catching her voice, she was mumbling something. Kakashi soon made his way as the ninja disappeared with Zabuza in tow. "How far are we from your village?" Tazuna quickly told them, Kakashi scooped Hinata into his arms and sprinted away, the others following behind him at a slower pace.

Kakashi looked down at his student, her face full of pain, his eye captured something else. Her mouth was red, he shifted her and saw red fluid coming out her mouth-blood. It was oozing out rapidly, _what?_ The Jounin stopped , squatted and moved his hand away from underneath Hinata's legs. "Hinata open your eyes. " No response. He knew she was awake, but just not there. " It's my fault...I-I killed her. I was naive, stupid. Am I capable of fixing things? That why I came back…" As she spoke more blood ran down her chin, Kakashi got confused, what was she talking about? "Was it b-because of me that y-you died? Did I K-kill you?" Kakashi felt her body go limp, he took that opportunity to use his free hand moved to her jaw, gently pushed her cheeks and her lips parted. He could see her tongue red and swollen, teeth marks evident. _Crap._ Kakashi sped away trying to find the house Tazuna described. The first thing Kakashi did was treat Hinata's wounds, by the time they reached Tazuna's home his chakra was critically low and Hinata fast asleep. The jounin left the young girl in the care of Tazuna's daughter and went back and joined the rest of his team. . Soon after he crawling into a spare mat beside Hinata's own and install fell asleep.

The sound of ocean, waves crashing against rocks and the chirping of the birds aroused Hinata from her sleep. She let out a moan and opened her eyes, she blinked several times before everything focused.

"You know your eyes aren't white and your hair is neither black." Hinata looked over to where the voice came from, Sasuke sat beside her with a fan in his hand and moving it side to side; the air cooling her warm skin. "W-Wha- Ah!" Hinata tried to form words but her tongue felt thick and painful. She covered her mouth with her hand and gave Sasuke a look.

"Don't look at me like that, that's what you get for biting your tongue." Sasuke kept on fanning , the Hyuga remembered, the pain, the memories all flooded in an instant. She was trying to stop the scream from coming out, she didn't want to endanger Kakashi even more than he was. Wait, they were alive, she scanned the room and beside her on a mat was Kakashi, alive and well. Naruto nowhere to be seen, the worst things entered her mind. "He's fine, he's preparing ramen for when you wake up." Hinata then sat up her hands on her lap, "W...Wh-at-"

"Hmpf, don't speak, you'll only make it worse." Sasuke smirked enjoying Hinata's pouting face. _Toneri!_ Was he real or was it just a fragment of her imagination? It was getting harder and harder to separate both things. Once she healed she would ask the necessary questions, for now what she had to worry about was if her Sensei thought she wasn't cut out to be shinobi. From all her actions she made it looked like she wasn't ready, she was taking a toll from so many things, especially her attacks. The Hyuga glanced down at the piece of paper and pencil that was thrown on her lap. She raised an eyebrow and Sasuke just shrugged. Taking the pencil she scribbled down a question.

 _What about my eyes and hair?_

"That's what you ask?" She only smiled and shrugged. Sasuke averted his eyes and scratched the back of his head, "They're not white. They have a hint of lavender, it's really light but it's there," The Uchiha smirked again, Hinata's cheeks had begun to redden so he continued to bombard her with random inquires.

"It has blue in it, your hair I mean. Almost indigo." Hinata blushed once again, the pencil and paper forgotten, with a loud 'Hinata' Naruto burst we through the door with armfuls of bowl; the smell of fresh ramen reached Hinata and her stomach grumbled in response. Naruto let out a laugh then made his way to his teammates, giving each a bowl and eating the savory noodles.

Miles and miles away, a dark empty place with no signs of life , except there was. A lonely man, filled with sadness and grief, surrounded by many and surrounded by none. His puppets stood to the side, awaiting orders. It was cold and lifeless, the man felt nothing, his skin wanted to feel the warmth of the sun, the soft ticklish grass beneath his flesh, all those things were wishes. He contemplated in visiting earth, see their vast nature and capture everything, other times he would love to see the world crumble away into nothingness, just like he was. The thing- no a person, a woman; a Hyuga, was stopping him from doing just that. He could easily start his plan, infiltrate it early on, _"_ Why am I not doing that?" He asked, no one replied. In frustration he destroyed one of his many puppets, the others made no move, no reaction whatsoever- they weren't alive. _Why?_ Toneri was going mad, alone for so long he could not see things right. _I'm going crazy._ His thoughts went back to the Byakugan princess, she was different, a child. Oh, but it was her alright, he needed to see if...if she was suffering as he was.

She was, showing up when he did accelerated her attacks. He suffered the same thing , to an extent. She had been guarding and old man while her friends and Sensei battled an enemy. When he returned to the past the first thing he did was search for the girl, tracked her every move, watched as she helped many and did nothing for herself. _Maybe this is why I'm not doing anything?_ Was it because of that? Was he hoping for something? Why did he remind the girl about her sister's death? For he was suffering and he wanted to do the same, make her feel her failures.

Toneri let out a laugh that soon turned into sob, _no,_ he would win this time, he would do everything all over again. There would be no room for error, the girl would not be able to save anyone this time around. Her mission _Will. Fail_.

 _No. I can't-_ Toneri paced around his living quarters, the walls painted in a dull color, earth visible from his open window. He could change h...he could. His hands came up and proceeded to pound his head is desperation. He was going mad.

 **Author's note;** Whelp. Many things happened. This will set many things in motion. Like I said, change. Toneri seems to have some issues, Itachi sent something to someone, and what the hell does Danzo have for Orochimaru? And issues with Eiji and Shisui. Will Kakashi question Hinata? Hoped you enjoyed it and till next update. Adios.


	25. Chapter 25 suspicion

**Chapter TwentyFive**

 **Suspicion**

It had been a day since team seven arrived and delivered Tazuna to his home, a day since the encounter with Zabuza. There was something amiss about the rendition from

Sasuke and Naruto of that day, that ninja that showed up and took Zabuza's body. A hunter ninja, was something to think about. The senbons, those could be deadly, but tracker had to use deadlier means to defeat someone such as Zabuza. Hinata would speak to Kakashi and see his side of the story, her tongue has gotten better so speaking wouldn't be much of a problem, she just had to keep it to a minimum. Finally rested she stood up, and made her makeshift bed. With one last glance at the room the Hyuga made her way out and was greeted by the smell of breakfast, "You're awake, please join us."

"Thank you." Hinata sat down and served herself some food, her eyes then caught a small child with a blue hat and black hair peeking out the sides, he was probably around eight or so years of age. "Excuse me, have you seen my friends and Sensei?" Tazuna's daughter told her that they were training, Hinata finished her food and gave her thanks before heading to the nearest Forest.

The forest was different than back home, the trees stood tall, their branches surpassing the clouds above. The grass was greener and healthier, it made her feel out of place for a bit. "Ha! I've caught up to you!"

"Shut it." Up ahead the Hyuga spotted her two friends on the ground their breaths labored and sweat running down their face. Her Sensei was laying under a tree with an orange book and crutches laying beside him. Naruto stood up his hand going up and forming a hand sign, with a kunai in his hand he sped towards a tree and ran up its trunk. Several steps up he suddenly paused and marked a line on the tree with the weapon and fell back down. "Oi! Hinata." Sasuke turned around and gave her a nod, Kakashi glanced up from his page and proceeded to stand up. Hinata hurriedly made her way to her teacher, stopping him from getting up and injuring himself further. "Thank you."

"Hm?'

"F-For carrying me, and treating my wounds."

"Something I would do for anyone, you're part of the team. Now, are you up for the training exercises?" The Hyuga gave one look to her friends and nodded yes, Kakashi then explained the exercise and its purpose. "Sensei, about that, I wanted to speak to you about the tracker ninja. "

"He wasn't one, Zabuza is probably alive."

"You knew?"

"Yes, I figured it while you were resting, Naruto and Sasuke already know. For that reason I need you guys to learn chakra control. Now go over there and join them." Without further ado, Hinata did just that. She focused her chakra at the soles of her feet, and made careful steps up the tree. It wasn't hard per say, rather easy, she basically was above a genin, close to Kakashi's level...almost. So, she walked all the at to the very top, only stopping to sit on a branch and look at two sets of eyes staring at her with surprise. "Hi." She waved, there seemed to pass something between both her boys, at the same time they ran at the tree. For the past two hours, the boys kept at it, never quitting, Hinata wanted to help them but she would let them come to her for advice.

The Hyuga now sat underneath another tree contemplating many things, she was right in suspecting the tracker ninja, Zabuza would be alive and they had to be ready for any attacks. "Hinata, come over here I have a special mission for you." She walked over to Kakashi and looked down, awaiting his instructions. "Naruto and Sasuke will be here all day and probably tomorrow. Your mission is to protect Tazuna, and follow him anywhere he goes."

"Yes, Kakashi Sensei." The Hyuga left and made her way back to their temporary home but not before Naruto called out to her.

Kakashi watched Hinata's retreating back, not one moment did his eye leave her person, his book forgotten in his hand. There was seriously something off about his student, it wasn't like the feeling he got when he knew something was wrong with the tracker and the way he disposed of Zabuza, it was different. Something odd and mysterious, what she said a while back was still stuck in his mind. What was he supposed to feel and think about her words. He wanted to rule it out as blood loss and the pain she was suffering, then again when she was being treated there were no visible signs she was hurt. Nothing, only thing was her tongue and that was about it. So why was she in pain? Kakashi decided once he recuperated they would head home and he would speak to the Hokage about it. It could've have been since his chakra was low he was hearing things. Keeping an eye on her would the best option.

The Uzumaki had not made it home, and it was troubling Hinata, there could be many people; thieves, dangerous creatures.

"Don't worry Hinata, he can take care of himself."Kakashi said. Hinata gave him a small smile but she was still worried, the food on her plate was untouched, not tryin to be rude guest she ate the food. It was dull and tasteless. Still thinking of Naruto, Hinata looked around the dining room trying to distract her thoughts. Her eyes caught sight of a picture, it was Tazuna his daughter and her son, but there was another person. Whoever it was they had been torn out of the picture, the Hyuga cocked her head to the side in confusion. It must have been someone important since she noticed Tazuna tense, she decided not to say anything, no need to bring back old memories. Tazuna abruptly stood up and gathered his gear , Hinata did the same not before stopped by the Uchiha. "Hey, Naruto asked you for some advice...could you...uh…"

Hinata let out a small giggle, Sasuke looked away embarrassed. "Sure , I'll give you some pointers." For about five minutes the Hyuga explained the methods and ways to make the training simpler, she soon followed Tazuna out.

It was a warm summer day, the sun beating down on the townspeople, waves crashing and no laughter whatsoever, strange. In a town surrounded by water Hinata just thought that families would be out and about, especially around the beaches. About a ten minute walk Tazuna and Hinata arrived at the bridge where a few people stood around waiting for their leader. Hinata sat close to where she could keep tabs on Tazuna but also far away where she wouldn't cause problems. Her mind drifted back to a certain blond hair and blue eyed teammate, he was probably still trying to conquer the tree exercise but that didn't mean he could stay in the forest all night. Hinata paused surprised at her thoughts, when she was in team eight she kept her emotions in check, well aware of the people who surrounded her. The hyuga wasn't able to express how much she cared about her teammates, torn and broken so much she was afraid of the rejection of her friends. Now, accepted by the clan and everyone else she was able to be the person she was ought to be since the beginning- it all felt so strange. A heated discussion reared Hinata back to the present, Tazuna and another male were arguing, the man wanted to keep things to a whisper but Tazuna was having none of it. Not able to hear, she just read her clients face, and by the look of it he wasn't pleased, the other man just stood with his head hung low. Several workers then left without a backwards glance, Tazuna ignored them and continued working with the few men he had. The men never returned after their lunch break was over. On the way back, Hinata noticed how poor and damaged the residents were, they weren't living, they were surviving.

Sasuke felt utterly hopeless, he felt like the stupidest guy on the face of the earth. He kept his face hidden by the shadows provided by the trees, he had stammered while he spoke to Hinata. What a fool he was, he needed to think straight if he needed to find Naruto. He really wasn't sure where he was going, Naruto would probably be at the same place they had been practicing. Heading to that direction his mind went back to a certain white eyed girl, and again he felt stupid, he needed to stop thinking about her. He never thought of a girl in that way, why now? He mentally asked himself. The Uchiha let out a huff but stopped and looked up, a man-woman? was walking straight at him but on the other side of the path. Long loose black hair, onyx eyes and something very familiar about them. Sasuke couldn't place it since his attention went to his best friend, Naruto, who sat up as he saw him. "Hinata was worried." Said Sasuke as he balled his hand and whacked Naruto in the head.

"Ow! Hey!- She was worried...man, now I have to apologize." Naruto sulked, reaching for his weapon Naruto stood up and walked over to the practice tree, "Still going? Tch."

"Yes, I know you want to continue to." Naruto was right, as he said that Sasuke took out his own kunai and followed his friend. The teens rushed to the tree, they spent hours and hours trying to get the right chakra.

The silver haired jounin kept his eye on his student, he wanted to see if he could figure her out. He already knew her- but there was still something off since the day he took he to Tazuna's home. The memory always coming forth every time he noticed her get pale in the face and leave quickly. She was probably sick? Needed specific medicine, it could be why her fingertips were covered in purple liquid that one time. Kakashi shook his head and continued eating, waiting for Sasuke and Naruto to come back from their training. Not disappointed, the door burst open revealing the two boy, they were drenched in sweat and physically and mentally worn out. The Uzumaki was held upright by Sasuke, he looked up and lazily said, "We...made it to the top of the tree! And Hinata, sorry for worrying you." Right there, the blond boy's body slumped taking Sasuke with him. "Ugh, help?" Hinata quickly got up, upon seeing her friends she let out a small sob and smiled, happy to see her friends safe and sound.

Naruto awoke with a start, his heart racing and thoughts on haywire. rays of sunshine blinded him momentarily, then something dawned on him. _They left me!_ Hurriedly he dressed and left towards the bridge, where his teacher and friends were met with a troublesome scene.

The Hyuuga and the Uchiha took their positions around Tazuna, right after mist surrounded them. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi. Still carrying those kids." Zabuza soon appeared followed by three more water clones, Sasuke took his kunai and slashed every single clone without batting an eye. Hinata was mildly impressed, she had already been graced to see and fight sasuke once upon a time. He had so much talent and power ahead of him, his simple moves could not compare. Mind back to the battle ahead of them, Hinata looked at all the options, which were zeroed to not much. Battling it out would have to be the way to go, there was no time to think of anything else.

Would she dare try to do some type of jutsu? would she stop things from going further? Hinata could do it, she could end it right there and then, but would she dare expose herself like that? It would only arise Kakashi's suspicion, his eye was trained on her from the very start, since she was assigned in team seven, it was the same with the Hokage. Her training as ninja was not limited even if she had went back in time, she used her skills to know things and how to approach certain things. Now, she was not sure what to do at that moment. A crackling icy noise made Hinata look up from her position, up ahead Sasuke was encased in what looked like crystallized mirrors and Haku reflection was in every one of them. Kakashi was toe to toe with Zabuza. _No! Think Hinata, think._

 **Author's Note** ; Hello, lovely readers! hope you enjoyed this chapter, I really enjoyed writing this one. Seems to me there might be something happening between a certain Uchiha and Hyuga...hmm...Anyways, I can't wait to get to the chunin exams, got many things planned. Until the next .


	26. Chapter 26 Dreams

**Chapter Twenty Six**

 **What needs to be done**

Haku knew what needed to be done, but a part of him knew it was wrong. Zabuza was right, he was too soft, too pure. How could that be? He's killed relentlessly for the person he loved, did all the bidding without question. So why was he pure in Zabuza's eyes? He was his tool, his weapon… Was he not good enough? Stepping inside a mirror he faced the younger teen, his senbons in hand ready to strike. "I'm sorry it has come to this." All he ever did now was be sorry about everything, could this be why...why he wasn't enough. Haku knew he could end things quickly, kill the boy and take him out of his misery and then go and help Zabuza. Simple, easy, effective, so, _why don't I do just that? Why am I hesitating?_ There was a theory, they would be his defeat. His last battle, his last breath. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Zabuza spoke to the enemy, for an instant he recalled a very fond memory of his loved one. "Hinata, do not move." The silver haired ninja spoke out, Haku turned back and refocused on the enemy. Analyzing the child. "I will show you my true speed." In every mirror Haku appeared, every single one raised their hand with three senbons between each finger. In a flash they all threw at the same time, Sasuke let out a scream as he was assaulted from every direction, he tried covering himself but nothing seemed to help. After a while the Uchiha's body fell forward, his muscles tense and his heart beating out of his chest and his clothes partially ripped.

The demon of the mist could not for the best of his keep his feelings down, his worry for Haku escalated once he found out about the Uchiha- Sharingan wielder, Haku would be able to handle himself. He was sure of it.

"Either way, your boy is a goner. Haku will finish him."

"I said don't move, stay by his side." Kakashi warned, the Hyuga cast a worried glance towards her teacher then to Sasuke. "You won't be able to do anything kid." Zabuza said as his eyes regarded the girl. His dark brown eyes instantly recognized her.

"Hyuga."

"Your fights with me." Zabuza let out a raspy laugh at Kakashi's statement, riling up the jounin caused him great satisfaction. "Just you and me, any sudden movements and I will kill those two." The sounds of Sasuke's screams caused Hinata to react, she forced her feet to move then jumped in the air, she threw a kunai towards the mirror hoping she could figure out something, to give Sasuke some more time. The kunai was about to touch the iced mirror but was halted by a hand, Haku had captured the weapon, Hinata was about to do something stupid but suddenly stopped. A whizzing sound caught her attention, two shurikens flew straight towards Haku; the weapons hitting their enemy right in the face causing him to fall out of the mirror and onto the pavement. Hinata activated her blood limit and spotted a familiar chakra signature, it was Naruto, she slightly smiled but at the same time was dissapointed. He had given his spot away, and by the looks of it he was going to make an entrance.

Naruto appeared in a cloud of smoke, his orange outfit standing out and a grin plastered on his face. "Naruto Uzumaki!" He announced. Both Sasuke and Kakashi's stared with dissapointed expressions. Hinata could only smile at his entrance, thankfully now they might have a higher chance of beating the two ninja. Zabuza chuckled, semi impressed at the boy. Naruto got into a stance his hands coming up to form a hand sign and create his shadow clone jutsu. So focused on Haku, Naruto only had a few seconds to react as five shurikens made their way towards him, "Naruto! Get down!" Kakashi yelled. The shurikens were knocked out of their trajectory by another set of weapons, Haku's to be precise. "Their attacks canceled each other out. Really lucky." Tazuna said, Hinata thought otherwise. There was more to this fight than what it seemed, Sasuke only had superficial cuts- why was he going easy on him? Not that she wasn't glad.

"Naruto! what were you thinking, a ninja is supposed to catch their enemy off guard, not show up in front of them and start casting jutsu. You're a target now." The Uzumaki let out low gasp at his teacher's words, what had he been thinking? He was better than that...he's done this type of practice since the academy days. He was smarter.

"Haku...What is the meaning of this?"

"Zabuza- let me deal with them. Please, let me fight this battle my way."

"You're naive as usual." That comment did something to Haku, he pushed it away not wanting it to interfere with his battles."I'm sorry."

"Alright, I've messed up already, but bring it on" Naruto declared getting ready to fight.

Hinata wanted to move, to go and fight side by side with her friends. The only issue was Zabuza, he kept his eyes on both her sensei and herself. Any movement and he would carry out his threats. All anybody could do was watch the outcome of the fight, with that in mind Hinata racked her brain for any solutions. She was just worried about her two friends, they were strong but not as strong as they should be, they weren't those men she remembered, they were just children. Kakashi had the same train of thought as Hinata, any form of help would only get his student killed and their client. Hinata, he felt that if he moved that she would be able to handle Zabuza but that was unlikely to happen, even if he felt she could.

Taking an opportunity, Sasuke carefully and silently took out a weapon and sent it forth Haku, he side stepped away and turned his attention to the Uchiha, "I had really hoped that you would have stayed put, but I can't expect that can I. Now, I will kill you first." With that said Haku walked up to a mirror and entered it, Naruto stared wide eyed while Sasuke prepared for another onslaught of torture. "Don't worry Naruto, I'll come back when I finish your friend." Haku said before launching another round at Sasuke, Naruto watched horrified as his friend got cut up. "At-Attack...Naruto!" The Uchiha managed to say between gritted teeth, Naruto responded and soon a dozen clones appeared and surrounded the dome, they all took out their weapons and were about to launch them. "If you attack I will kill him." Naruto paused and looked at Haku's senbon directed at Sasuke. A look from his friend and Naruto sent his weapons, they made direct contact and slightly cracked a few mirrors but not enough to destroy them. A feeling of satisfaction found its way to Naruto's body, if he kept it up and somehow Sasuke found a way to attack as well, they would be able to defeat the ninja. That soon came with a price. A senbon latched itself on Sasuke's left leg, hitting a vital area, blood seeped and ran down his white shorts. Naruto let out a scream, "Sasuke!"

Naruto fearing for his friend ran to the dome and entered it, crouching beside Sasuke and checking his wound, "Why did you come, you should've stayed out there!"

"I-I couldn't leave you like this, he would have hit a vital organ next if I attacked."

"Stupid," Sasuke shook his head then stood up, placing his weight on his right leg, "Lets finish this once and for all." Forming a hand sign Sasuke took a deep breath and exhaled, a trail of fire came out and the tendrils engulfed the mirrors. Sasuke hoped that the fire would melt the ice mirrors and for once have an upper hand. It did nothing. "It will take more than fire power to melt my mirrors." The Uzumaki shut his eyes and grinned.

"So what, I will do everything and anything to survive, I won't die here. I have a dream that I intend to make come true. I will prove to everyone, just because I carry- I will not die here!" Naruto spat, his words made Haku remember something so long ago, it was one of his fondest memories of Zabuza, the day they first met. If it was not for Him, he wouldn't know what would have come of him, his bloodline limit was precious. That man, the only person who didn't see him as weapons , just someone normal that accepted the way he was. Naruto in a way was similar to him, "Being a shinobi is difficult for me. If I can, I don't want to kill you and I don't want to be killed by either of you. If you come at me then I will have to kill my feelings and become a full fledged ninja. You have your dreams as I have mine." That moment he peeked a glance at the person he cared for more than life, "I will protect the person I cherish, I will fight and work for that person and make that person's dream come true. That is my dream. I will become a cold killer to achieve that."

 _Enough!_ Naruto stood up, his expression one of commitment. His fingers came up and multiple Narutos appeared, without thinking they all ran to a mirror in hopes of destroying them. They all poofed away as Haku strikes every single one of them. The real Naruto landed with a thud beside his friend. Sasuke meanwhile had tried tracking the Ninja with his eyes, Haku's speed was to fast for him to see.

"These mirrors only reflect my image, the speed I'm going, to me you're moving in slow motion."

The silver haired jounin knew his two students wouldn't make it out alive, even if they managed to defeat the boy. The likelihood of that was slim, He had to act fast or else he won't have a team anymore.

"Those two whom you call ninja dont have the mental strength and the power to suppress one's emotions to kill someone." Zabuza explained, Hinata heard and she agreed with him, they were not ready to commit something like that...yet. She could, she could turn off her feelings, with great effort she could.

 **Author's Note** ; I was excited about this chappie to begin with but that went down hill, i literally was busy the whole week, work was hectic-couldn't write. So I again apologize for this chappie, wasn't my best. Hoping to have the next one better written and stuff. I hope that you guys at least enjoyed it too and extent. Anyways, till next update. Things will get exciting next chappater Adios.


	27. Chapter 27 losing of a friend

Chapter Twenty Seven

Losing of a friend

The ex anbu leader took in all his options, on one hand he could make a run to his two students but, that would only put Hinata and Tazuna at risk. The other option would be to use a clone jutsu, then again Zabuza would attack with his own water clones; he would only be wasting chakra. There was one ultimate choice, the Sharingan, he already used it in battle with the demon of the mist. No way of surprising him this time around. Still he made his choice, his left hand came up to his forehead protector and and lifted it up an inch, "I'm going to have to cut this short and finish this once and for all." Zabuza let out a deep chuckle, unimpressed at his opponent, "Sharingan, how unoriginal." Zabuza kept his eye on Kakashi, the air felt thick with tension. In on motion Zabuza's hand reached for his pocket and ran at Kakashi, the kunai heading for his Sharingan eye. The weapon penetrated but not its target, with his other hand Kakashi managed to stop the weapon, droplets of blood fell onto the pavement, "You say it's unoriginal, are you afraid of my Sharingan,Zabuza?"

Again Zabuza chuckled, his left hand placed on the hilt of his sword, "This is the second time you show your technique. Not a wise move, Kakashi."

"Be grateful you're the only one to have seen it more than once. There won't be a third time."

"Even if you defeat me, you can't beat Haku. He is what he is because of me, I've taught him everything he knows. He's surpassed me already, he taught himself his own tricks. The perfect weapon, perfect killer. The bloodline limit only makes him more useful." Hinata felt sick for a moment, this wasn't her first encounter with someone with those type of beliefs. How could this man not see what he had before him, did he feel nothing for his student? Or was he just a weapon like he said?

Naruto painfully stood again, he rubbed his cheek, his hand painted with his blood, the cuts disappeared as soon as they marked his skin. "I'm not giving up!" His clones appeared and attacked again, and again they were destroyed, Sasuke then shouted, "Naruto! Stop it! You're wasting cha-" He was interrupted, about fifty or so senbons attacked him, piercing the skin deeper and deeper with each attack. With one eye cracked open and hands around his face he captured a slight movement, right when Naruto leaped to attack, a puddle of water had floated up with him. Haku's form passed right through that body of water and by the looks of it there was a chance Sasuke could follow him this time. _Still , even if I saw a trace it does not mean I can catch up to him. I'll make my move again._ "Naruto."

"Hm?"

"Do you have enough in you to do it again?" Naruto grinned and formed his handsign, "Hell yeah!" Sasuke skeptically turned his eyes to his friend, he wasn't okay, his clones take up too much chakra, how much longer did he have left? The masked ninja prepared his senbon, Sasuke took that opportunity and faced Naruto,"Run! attack from the outside." Not hesitating Naruto took off to the nearest opening, the Uchiha's eyes followed as Haku's form escape and made a beeline to his friend. Sasuke's lungs expanded with air, his eyes following the enemy, he let out a breath. The fire reached out for Haku, he only evaded it but not before the flames singed the bottom of his skirt. The Uchiha back let out a grunt in agony, a senbon was sticking out of his left shoulder, Naruto soon joined him on the ground having been defeated. _One more time._

"Damn it!"

Sasuke gripped the senbon and yanked it out, then turned to Naruto, "Again." Naruto nodded, both of them running for an exit. Haku seeing their plan acted quickly, Sasuke dropped to the group as he felt his body become weak. All he heard was his name being called, then a grunt and then someone beside him.

Hinata activated her Byakugan right after Zabuza had activated his jutsu, the mist was thick and suffocating. The only consolation she had was her vision, she could see his chakra signature and nothing was out of the ordinary. Her eyes widen at the scene before her, both her boys were getting beaten and slowly their chakra was declining. _No_ , _move!_ Her body got ready to act, she stopped before a foot could be moved. Her eyesight caught a movement, she took a peek at Kakashi and noticed he was alone. Her hands moved in their own accord, blue chakra engulfed her body, her form moving closer to Tazuna. Zabuza silently appeared before them, his sword swinging towards them ready to strike. The Hyuga panicked, her body was not yet ready for the strike, the chakra surrounding her was not complete, she would be cut in half. Forcing more chakra out, she looked forth at Zabuza, his eye fathomless and full of pure hatred. She faltered, her muscles tensed, breath hitched and her white orbs shut tight. The sound of metal slicing flesh caused her to open her eyes, "K-Kakashi sensei!" The Hyuga screamed, the chakra surrounding her evaporated, in front of her stood her sensei; his arms outstretched in protection and blood pooling down beside his feet. His body bent in pain and Zabuza's great sword cutting the side of his torso.

The Uchiha reacted to the scream, he forced his body to move, "That was Hinata...What happened?"

"H-Hinata...We have to...to do something." Naruto breathed out, he laid on the floor faced down, several senbons sticking out of his back. Sasuke averted his eyes and tried looking beyond the mirrored dome. "We can't give up." The two said in unison. They gave eachother a small smile, Naruto shakily got to his feet and shook off his tiredness, Sasuke only watched with sad eyes, his friend beaten down again. "You need to stop. He wants us to use our chakra."

"I know."

"There is no escaping, it futile." Haku looked between the two teens, upset at their defeat. He was going to end it soon, he sent his weapons, Sasuke seeing the attack took one of the senbons from the ground and deflected each and every one of Haku's senbons. _My eyes are getting used to his movements._ Haku was momentarily surprised, seeing such speed was something he was not used to, no one could match his speed like that. The Uchiha fell to one knee, breathing heavily and his eyes taking in Naruto's battered body. _He won't be able to move like this._ Haku sent another wave, Sasuke avoided and covered Naruto at the same time, Haku took notice of his effort and made his next attack at the orange clad teen. Something snapped in Sasuke, he felt odd but he felt a powerful feeling surge through and right through his eyes, at first it was painful then it felt right. Like it should be there. His brother described the sensations and emotions once an Uchiha activated their Sharingan, it was happening to him. Opening his eyes his Sharingan was ablaze with fury. Running at his friend felt like he was only running in slow motion, he forced his chakra to the soles of his feet and launched himself in front of Naruto. His intention was to attack Haku, instead he was the one who received the attack. His Blood pooled out of his mouth, his body was tense and any movement caused him pain. His body was littered with senbons, blood ran down, making his death slower and the more painful. "SASUKE."

The Hyuuga had enough, too much bloodshed, her body responded and her mind blacked out. Having been through many battles and losing so many her body felt familiar in the current situation. Her Byakugan captured the exact moment that Sasuke was struck, Naruto was currently shaking with anger, his chakra patterns uneven. In a series of handsigns about a dozen of clones appeared, all of them ready for instructions. "What the?" Zabuza incredulously said, Kakashi turned his head and saw the clones surrounding Tazuna and more clones appearing. "Hinata, dont do any-"

"I'm sorry, Kakashi sensei...I have to do this."

"The Hyuga wants to play." Seeing the emotionless stare of Hinata, Zabuza backed away a few steps. They were of a killer, her eyes weren't filled with hesitation or worry. They were cold, the same as his Haku's whenever he was in the moment of killing someone. She had that same stare. Without waiting any further Hinata set forth to the dome, where her friends were trapped and dying of blood loss, she made it halfway before Zabuza's water clones appeared. Effortless, she beat them, she ignored her sensei's screams and without missing a beat she evaded the rest of the clones. sensing her chakra low she used the remaining to create more clones, then accessed her reserved chakra. Standing just a few feet away, she concentrated the last she had of chakra to her hands, it flooded naturally through her pathways and encased her fist.

It was a small glow at first, bright but not quite to it's potential, the blue chakra ran up her arms and stopped halfway before meeting her elbow. It was stronger now, Kakashi and Zabuza could feel the power radiating from her. Soon, her chakra started to take form; twin lions.

Sasuke held back a choke, his head felt light headed and his life was slipping away, "A-Are you...Okay?"

"You did it, Sasuke!" Naruto's voice died down, a part of his being shook with terror. His breath left him. Sasuke had taken the attack himself, his body was covered in blood and the senbons were sticking all over. "Good. Now get out of here, idiot." The Uchiha stumbled back, he fell to his knees, his chest heaving and without looking back he told Naruto to leave again. "Why? W-why did you take the-"

Sasuke chuckled, "You still don't get it. I will always protect my friends- my best friend." His body finally drifted backwards and collapse in Naruto's awaiting arms. "Did you know I...hated you, for seeing the good in things. Even...even after you lost...everything."

"No...dont talk, were g-going to get o-"

"You are. Go an-"

"Shh, I'll...I'll find a way. Kakashi will help."

"Go and fulfil your dream. Naruto. I won't be able to fulfill my dream of killing my brother. " The Uzumaki with tear filled eyes saw Sasuke's hand reach up to touch his face but half way it went limp and landed beside his body, his black eyes lost their light and Naruto could pinpoint the exact moment his friend was gone.

 _Let me out._

Naruto for a brief moment ignored the voice of the tailed beast. Naruto wrapped his arms around his friends body and held him tight, trying to hold on to the reaming warmth and possibly the last time he would ever be able to touch his friend. _You don't have to tell me twice._

The seal gave away, part of the tailed fox chakra seeped out. Gently setting Sasuke down he got to his feet and turned to face Haku but not before giving a one last look. Naruto heard glass shatter, his eyes followed a bright light and saw who managed to penetrate the mirrors. Hinata ran inside and joined Naruto, her chakra lions still intact. Hinata never bat an eye, not even after seeing Sasuke and at Naruto's new transformation. Naruto bared his teeth, fangs sticking out and his claws digging into his palm. " He will pay," His eyes looked over at Haku then back at Hinata, "Ill handle them, S-Sasuke, save him." Naruto growled. The lions disappeared, Hinata took a few steps and was now in front of Naruto. Behind Naruto, Hinata could see one single tail violently sweeping the ground and creating a strong wind. Her arms found their way around Naruto's body , "Be careful. I got sasuke." She gave one last embrace then made her way to Sasuke, Naruto unleashed the fox upon Haku, he would forever regret ever messing with his loved ones.

 **Author's Note** ; I was going to end this arc in this chapter, but it as you could tell that didn't happen. It will end with the next chapter, then a new adventure awaits us. Hoped you at least enjoyed it. didn't have much time to write this as I wanted it. Oh, well. So, till next update. Adios.


	28. Chapter 28 The work of time

Chapter Twenty Eight

The work of time

Knowing Naruto had everything in control, aside from his seal breaking, she confided in him. Hinata made a quick bee line to Sasuke's body and crouched beside him. There was nothing to worry about, he would survive like he always did. This time it was not going to be the same. Something was wrong and Hinata could feel it, she placed her fingers below his throat and waited for a pulse. Nothing. _What?_ After activating her Byakugan she let out a gasp, his chakra pathways were frozen and dissipating rapidly. "S...Sasuke, wake up." Hinata shook his shoulder, no response. Visibly shaken, Hinata stared wide eyed, a millions thoughts crossing her mind. Taking a peek around her she felt a sense of dread fill her, something bad was about to happen. Just as she thought that, the whole world shook at her thoughts. Almost instantly everything moved in slow motion, and that moment she remembered something very important. If Sasuke was dead, who in the future sent her back in time. Eyes widening she looked down at herself after feeling a tingle run down her body. Just barely her hand became translucent, she was disappearing, it wasn't a good sign.

The earth shook, her body moving in unison, all around her was essentially nothing. The waves stopped forming, the water the sound of people...just ceased. Above her a cloud formed, the air picked up and it surrounded Sasuke and herself. The timeline got damaged and the only way to repair itself was too destroy the earth and ultimately the timeline- her timeline. The chance of stopping it was zero to none. Thinking rapidly, and acting only on instinct, Hinata activated once again her bloodline and began working. Her fingers closed up very specific pathways in Sasuke's system and then infused her hands and fingers with her own chakra. In about three minutes, the cloud forming around her would turn into a black hole and then start dismantling everything from below and devouring it. Satisfied that the pathways around Sasuke's heart were closed off she sent waves of chakra to his heart, by closing the points it would keep her chakra in place and help his heart restart.

Sasuke's body convulsed but his heart remained the same, for just a moment his lips moved but it was brief. With that in mind, the Hyuga continued and not stopping even after feeling her own life escape her. Once or twice her hand would blink in and out of existence.

"Sasuke." Another wave sent.

"Please, w-wake. Up!" Tears formed and freely fell down her cheeks and down her chin until splashing onto Sasuke's shirt. Eyes blurry and breath labored, she kept her concentration, pouring everything she had into him. Three minutes later, the corners of her eyes caught movement and she looked up. although everything was in slow motion, she could tell it wouldn't take long before there was nothing left, she didn't even feel how part of the bridge split and rose up into the hole. Her eyes moved down and took in Sasuke's peaceful expression, so calm and so different from his frown and look of desperation. He looked happy, something she never actually noticed before. _I should let it happen, with his death….there could be another beginning, a restart._ Hinata would not have to worry about anything, about the future, she could easily join all of her friends in another world- another time. "It wouldn't be wise for you to give up." Startled, Hinata jerked her head up and there standing was someone she never thought she would see. Toneri, with his eyes shut and looking worn out and tired. "Why? Its for the best, this timeline would be gone and nothing like this ever happened."

"An easy way out, I would expect it from someone else but from you, never."

"Why are you here?"

"To see what you did to cause," His hand waved at his surroundings, "All of this disaster."

Confusion was written all over the Hyuga's face, Toneri would have taken that opportunity to take what he wanted but instead he moved closer to her and crouched beside her. He didn't miss how she jerked away at his proximity, he placed his hand on top of hers but she moved away. "Wha-"

"Shh, only trying to help." He continued when Hinata raised her eyebrow in question. "Unlike you, I'm not about to let this timeline go to waste. This will not be my last breath." The Hyuga eyed him skeptically unsure of what his ulterior motives were. Could she give up? Let things flow the way they should or would she stop it? On one side she could have peace but could she live with the guilt of not trying hard enough to save something? "I would hurry with that decision."

"Alright." With a nod of her head, Toneri moved behind her and she reacted. " You need my help to save him. I promise not to do anything." Taking a deep breath, Hinata prepared for the closeness and decided to just stare at Sasuke. Toneri crouched behind her, encircled his arms around her and placed his hands on top of hers, his breath an inch away from her neck, she shuddered. "We'll send out chakra at the same time, one...two-three." Simultaneously waves of chakra shot forth and hit the Uchihas heart, his chest rose up various times before it stopped. With the Byakugan still on she saw as Sasuke's heart bumped once then a few more times, it was working. Toneri easily moved away and watched the scene unfold.

With quick fingers, the Hyuga opened up Sasuke's chakra pathways right after making sure that his body was producing his own. Happiness settled within her but kept it at bay, not wanting to get her hopes up. With a big breath, the Uchiha bolted straight up, his lungs expanding for air, without missing a beat, Hinata wrapped her arms around Sasuke's body and squeezed with all her might, sobs escaping her lips. All she could do was hold him, she could faintly feel how everything fixed itself, feel the tingle leave her. She glanced up, the cloud was gone and everything was moving in real time. All back to normal.

Zabuza felt something inside him die the moment he saw Haku stand in front of him and take his hit. The kid would do anything for him and his dream and finally he wound up dying. The demon of the mist would have kept all his feelings to himself, tell himself that Haku was nothing but a piece in his overall plan to conquer. Naruto's words had hit him, made him realize his true feelings. Now, he was an empty shell, nothing to really live for, from here on out he would die alone. There was still on last fight in him, in a series of movements his bandages came off his mouth and placed the kunai Naruto sent him between his sharpened teeth. In his final breath, Zabuza became what he always was, the demon of the mist, he killed the man that hired him and the man who had the audacity to kick Haku right in front of him. Gato would never be able to ruin any lives anymore, all of his goons departed at his demise. The bridge would be completed.

"Take me to him." Kakashi scooped Zabuza into his arms after he had taken off all the blades from his back. Gently the jounin laid Zabuza next to Haku, and walked back to Naruto.

"Haku, you were pure right from the beginning. You will be in a place you deserve." Zabuza hand reached up and cupped Haku's cold cheek and kept it there, "I just wish I could follow you there." He smiled one last time as snow fell from the heavens, his eyes laid open staring at the last image of his loved one.

Blinking, Sasuke shook away the images and felt a body pressed closed to his,"Hinata?" The body backed away, it was Hinata. "I'm...alive." A smile appeared on her face, her arms moved away and found themselves on Sasuke's face. Their foreheads touched, they each let out a sigh and stayed in that moment until they heard footsteps approaching them.

"Sasuke?" A voice interrupted them, the two teens looked up at their friend, Naruto rubbed his eyes and plastered a smile. He launched himself at his friends and embraced them, Kakashi stood off to the side watching the exchange. The sounds of villagers cheering filled the air, but to team seven it was only them.

The burial was fast and easy, no one really responded in a negative or positive way to where both Zabuza and Haku would be laid to rest. It was on top of a hill, where in a way they could see everything and protect their land. It was just the perfect place for them, side by side.

"What do we do now?" Asked Naruto, he looked up and took in his sensei.

"Home." Replied Kakashi. Giving one last look at the town and the land, team seven headed back to their own home awaiting to hear what the other teams had been up to.

 _One month later_

It was odd, especially coming from Sakura. Odd indeed. After team seven had arrived, Hinata was summoned to the Hokage tower to speak about what team she was destined to be. To her surprise, Sakura had decided she wanted to stay with team Eight, Hinata wondered what had transpired between her old teammates and Sakura. Jealousy had taken place in her heart but she reminded herself that there was no reason to feel that way, they would always be her friends either way.

 **Author's Note;** Hello lovely readers! I would like to take the time to appreciate some reviews from; **LilyVampire, Natsuko,TL and a Guest** \- Thank you the support and standing up for me, You guys are Amazing. Thank you once again. This chapter is a bit rushed...still liked the way it turned out. On to a new arc, things will get interesting-I hope. Anyways, have a nice monday and till next update. Adios.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter TwentyNine**

A new chapter

The very first thing Hinata did was go to the Hyuga compound right after being debriefed, simple and easy to come up certain events that transpired with Zabuza. It was comforting to be back home, to feel safe and secure. Hinata could still not get around with Sakura's decision to remain in team Eight. Some part of her wanted to speak to her, and hopefully find out what had happened. The walk to the Hyuga compound was quiet and even more so as she neared the gates. No one was taking watching, odd, she entered and made her way across the courtyard and into the main house. To her surprise she was greeted by some if not most of the Hyuga family, _what have I missed?_ She wondered. Both families were gathered not because of a meeting but because of _her_. "Hinata!" To the very far she heard her name called, her eyes scanned the sea of people until stopping in a certain girl with long brown hair. Hanabi joyfully made her way into Hinata's awaiting arms. "How did you know I was back?"

"We are Hyuga, we are bound to know." Hinata made no comment, instead she greeted the rest of the family, still confused by how close they all were. Things were looking up.

Hinata jumped as a hand fell in her shoulder, instincts told her to react but she carefully turned around and came face to face with her father. His cold gaze softened and he briefly gave his daughter a hug, although it was short and fast, to Hinata it was everything she ever wanted. Approval from her father, "I'm proud of you." Pride swelled deep inside her, she had done something right this time around. " the family is happy to have you again. You should go rest." Blinking, Hinata felt all of the previous day's catch up with her. The aches and pains were back and she needed to make more of the sweet violet before she ran out. Politely saying goodbye to the Hyuga members, she made her way to her bedroom and then activated her byakugan, seeing she was safe she left the safety of her home to see two certain men. She did fail to notice someone watching her every move,

Electricity could be felt in the room, between Shisui and Eiji things were not going as they should. None spoke and it was childish, they were all adults. So, Hinata did it for them. "What exactly happened?" The Hyuga asked, she observed every single container holding each Uchiha, from all the data being collected they were doing fine. "Two almost escaped." Eiji replied, Hinata turned around and gave him an appreciative smile and he continued. "Shisui had made his round only taking a few children outside, these two- particularly the girl managed to somehow leave undetected from Shisui."

"They want freedom! You can't blame them!" Shisui interrupted.

"No, they are not to blame. The blame should go to the person responsible for it." Shisui was ready to receive Hinata's cutting words, hear her dismissal of him but what he heard made him look at the girl. "Me. You want the best for them and I understand. I often told

myself ' what if I never interfered? Would we be having this conversation?. Shisui, I'm sorry for all the trouble I have caused." Eiji couldn't help but let out a confused expression but still smile, Hinata took several steps until she was in front of Shisui, "Iv keep them safe but they have not been living., It's your turn to decide what you want to do with your people. You can leave with them and do as you wish, just keep in contact. Eiji you can always leave." Giving them both time to think, Hinata left and made her way to the kitchen to prepare another batch of _sweet violet_.

Hinata kept her insecurities all to herself, she wanted the both men with her, supporting her, and the only thing she was doing was keeping them from going their own paths. They needed to decide what they wanted to do and she was going to accept whatever they chose. Toneri came to mind, the way she reacted to him when he should up only further proves he remembered, that he somehow came back as well. Why has he not done anything? He could've have taken her eyes that moment they met, she had no seal to prevent him for doing so. With so many question in her head she wanted to speak to him...he was different; he gave no harmful vibes each time they spoke. What was different. At this moment he could be planning things as far as she could tell, who knew what that man thought. Keeping her guard was now very important, he could be showing a side so he could gain her trust and then attack. _Why didn't I do anything?_ Toneri was right in front of her, ending him would solve the future. Solve many things. Would she have a similar chance again?

The Hyuga not wanting to speed her two friends deacions she quietly left after making her medicine, reaching the outskirts of the perimeter and stepping out she came to a halt, Neji was standing a few feet away with his bloodline activated. His eyes looked at her with question and then back at the field behind her, he couldn't see what was really hidden beyond. "Neji." He deactivated the blood line and side stepped hinata, his hand reaching out in hopes of feeling something. Hinata wanted to stop him, but she let him do as he wished. As soon as his fingers touched the perimeter he was electrocuted and sent flying back. He landed on his back and quickly stood up, looking at Hinata. "What's behind that?"

"Neji, please-"

"What's. Behind!?" His composure snapped, hinata's eyes widen as he approached her with intention of hurting her.

Kakashi was well versed in the art of masking one's facial expressions , he kept his body relaxed but it was proving to be difficult as time passed with nothing happening. Not long before arriving back to the village he was called in by the Hokage, it wasn't surprising since he sent a message to him not long before leaving the land of waves. The subject they would be touching on was the heir to the Hyuga clan, Hinata. The jounin was baffled, his own student took down and evaded Zabuza's clones, and on top of that she managed to break down about two iced mirrors without even losing much chakra in the process. He still couldn't get around on how she survived, he wasn't present when she saved Sasuke, he only got glimpses. His eyes caught the Hokage's subtle movements, he wasn't taking it in well he assumed. "And you're sure that's how it occurred?"

"Im positive, sir.

The Hokage let out a defeated sigh, his elbows on the desk and hands supporting his chin, he was contemplating his next movements. He's seen the vast power a child could carry, he's had the honor of watching them develop while at the same time use it for personal gain. Team seven was proving to be a dangerous team. "Miss Hinata seems to be hiding something."

"Sir?"

"Tell me Kakashi, from the very first time you met her...did you feel anything off about her?" The hokage didn't wait for long, Kakashi let his feelings known, "I have, but I didn't think much of it, she's a hyuuga, their bound to be different." The response was to be expected, Hiruzen chose his next words carefully. " A ninja is bound to inform their medical ninja they're assigned to inform them of any ailments they may have. This liquid you have seen her take, is not found in any of her records." Kakashi opened his mouth but the hokage cut him off. " And about what she said to you, after fighting Zabuza...I'm bound to think there is more to her."  
"I'll keep an eye as always."

"The chunin exams are approaching, round up the rest of the instructors and bring them."

Sasuke watched the interaction with interest, two outsiders had appeared in the village. It piqued his interest, why were they there? On top of that they were Sunagakure ninja's. Naruto was arguing with one of them, a teenager with purple face paint marring his face and a what looked like a corpse behind his back. The girl kept quiet , blond hair tied up in several pony tails; the ends of the hair sticking out in pointy ends.

"I should teach you some manners, kid."

"It's a misunderstanding, it was my fault. Just let him go." Sakura pleaded. It was all in vain, the older teenager only increased his gripped on Konohamaru. Sasuke worried of Naruto and the strength the two strangers had, he took a the pebble he had been playing with and threw it at the teen.

"You should let him go, arriving at the village an already trying to hurt the grandson of the third Hokage. Tch." Kankuro let got of Konohamaru as if he had been burnt, he focused his attention to the kid hidden in the trees. "Kankuro!" Sasuke jumped at the sound of someone nearby, in a spectacle of sand a boy appeared; red hair and a place complexation, a person not easily forgotten. _I didn't even hear him._ "Do anything out of hand and I will kill you." That was putting it mildly, both the girl and boy stiffened at his words, Kankuro stuttered. "I-I was messing with them. Hehe." Kankuro finished lamely, the red head disappeared in a flurry of sand a reappeared in front of his comrades.

"You, who are you? Why are you here?"

"Who me?" The blond asked, Sasuke shook his head, "No, the one with the goard behind their back."

"I'm names Gaara of the sand, and you." He drawled out, each word sounding forced and voice raspy. "I'm Sasuke-" The uchiha jumped down and landed with grace, "Uchiha. Why are you here." The blonde opened her mouth, " The chunin exams of course."

"Chunin exams?" Naruto whispered as the trio left leaving the fresh Genin to ponder on the revelation.

 **Author's note;** I literally rewrote this chapter about three times. Wasn't satisfied with it until now. Many cliffhangers, I couldn't write much since work was horrible last week, hoping it changes this week. Oh, this chapter was pretty close of not being updated today. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and till next update. Adios


	30. Chapter 30 The start of the Chunin exams

Chapter Thirty

The start of the chunin exams

What could be worse? Not many knew of her secret, about three people, not including Toneri. The Hyuga's mind reeled with a way out. Neji stared at her hard and long, his eyes unwavering from her form. Once or twice they would look past her only to come back. So she did the only thing she could do, "why did you follow me?"

"Don't believe I wanted to or care. As much as I despise you, being branch I have to protect you."

"Would it have been better-"

"If you got hurt? Yes actually. The things is I want to do that myself. I could do it now, with no one to save you. But, I'm more interested with what's behind there." Neji said jerking his head. "Move." His tone of voice said it all, there was no arguing, yet Hinata stood her ground. As if he hadn't been thrown back from the forcefield, Neji stepped forward. Hinata seeing the way her cousin advanced she got into a stance. She would fight him as long as it kept him away from finding about her secret. "If you don't move, then I'll have to do it by force." In three quick steps he followed through with his threat, Hinata sidestepped to the side and threw her own combination. Neji had improved since their last spar, his skills were almost up to par to her Neji. Thoughts having distracted her Neji saw an opportunity and struck her right in the shoulder blade. Hinata stumbled backwards in pain, she had no time to breath as another wave came her way, Neji attacked relentlessly.

The heiress deflected every blow although her arm had suffered she kept her defense up, if things continued it as they were, there would be no ending to their fight unless either of them got hurt enough. Just one strike, that was all Hinata needed to stop a person she saw as a brother, her all seeing eyes found a spot and she focused on it. Still deflecting, the heiress ducked down and came back up but not before twisting her body and hitting a delicate point with her left hand, right on the side of Neji's neck. His Byakugan retreated and he crumbled to the ground, his eyes trying to keep focus on Hinata's towering form.

"Miss-" There was a gasp from behind Hinata, she spun around and found Ejij looking between the two cousins.

"He followed me here. I'm going to need your help in getting him back. Of course, if you don't mind." Eiji was still astonished that the heir to the Hyuga clan could order someone but at the same time ask instead of commanding. "Chakra burn, on your shoulder." Hinata looked down at her shoulder and shrugged not all that worried about it. "I'll be fine, Iv suffered through worse." Ejij would rather not ask, his imagination already did that for him. Neji, before succumbing to the darkness he was able to see Eiji alive and mostly well.

"Get him to the outskirts of the Hyuga compound, ill take the rest from there." Eiji nodded his head, he took the teen into his arms then made his way to a place he once called home. Hinata checked the rest of the perimeter and all the traps that were placed, everything looked fine. Reaching into her pockets she took out a purple vial and chugged it down, she took a leap and jumped from tree to tree, following Eiji just a few feet behind.

Neji awoke with a start, his hair was drenched in sweat, and his mind went on overdrive. His memories were a jumbled mess, he could faintly remembered speaking to Hinata and then nothing. His hand came up and rested it on the side of his head, _What happened? How..how did I get here?_ He questioned, the only person who could answer that was his cousin, thinking about her made him feel hatred. Hatred was now associated with her, as much as he wanted to redirect all of that he could not. It was automatic now, removing the blanket, his feet touched the cold floor and stood up. He swayed a little, once stable he made his way out in search of his _dear_ cousin.

"Neji." The sound of his name made him pause, the voice was gentle and annoying at the same time. His body tensed and he slowly turned around. "What." He snapped, Hinata was not fazed.

"Guy Sensei, came looking for you. I came to get you." Neji heard the words and still at the same time he did not. Lost memories surged forward, the fight they had, how she had defeated him and Eiji. "You believe that I wouldn't remember!" His voice got higher with each word, feet padding on the floorboards his arms reached out and bunched up on the front of Hinata's jacket. Unconsciously Hinata's arms came up, her right hand pushing Neji away while the other came to rest on his arm. Their eyes clashing, none giving in to the other. "I don't know wha-"

"Oh, shut up. I'm not stupid, _Hinata._ The chunin exams are only a week away, I expect you to apply and maybe if you make it to the end, I will be the one to end you." Saying what he needed to say he pushed Hinata and made his way out. Hinata almost broke on the spot, it seemed like Neji's hatred had become worse. Could she take that again? Wiping two lonesome tears, Hinata went to her father's study to tell him she would apply to the exams. Kakashi had informed her about it and dropped off an application. Not to mention Kakashi was acting far different, more things to worry about.

One week later;

"Naruto, get up...We're going to be late." The Uchiha pounded on his roommate's door, indistinguishable words flowed out. "Typical, fine. Be a genin for the rest of your life." Sasuke didn't wait long, he heard a crash and then another, the door swung open revealing a semi ready Uzumaki. "Sasuke! You didn't wake me." Naruto was left standing as Sasuke made his way out the door, keys in hand. "I'll be outside, lock the door." He threw the keys and Naruto caught them, he hurriedly changed then took two apples and gave one to Sasuke. He locked the door behind. The two boys made their way to the designated building, as the neared the place they took notice on how many people from different areas were headed the same way. This chunin was turning out to be very big with many skilled ninja. The Uchiha observed every single one of them wondering what skills they had up their sleeves. The boy with the red hair was nowhere to be found. "Look, Hinata's already there, by the swing." Naruto pointed, he jogged the last remaining distance. "Waiting long?"

"No, just arrived."

"Let's go, we can't be late." All nodding Naruto and Hinata followed Sasuke, as soon as they entered commotion could be heard.

"Please, let us through." A girl with her hair in two buns said, Lee was on the floor clutching his cheek. "Lee?" He twisted his body and his face completely changed, he sprang to his feet and engulfed Hinata into an embrace. "Flower blossom! Wait, you guys applied?" Not letting go of Hinata he looked at his other friends. "Hey bushy brows."

"Yeah."

"Great! All we have to do now is get past these two."

"Lee, please let go." Lee untangled his arms and awkwardly laughed, "Hehe...Oh. These guys" Lee pointed with his head, Hinata shook her head. "This isn't the third floor."

"What?"

"Their using a genjutsu on us. We have to head up those stairs." The Hyuga motioned towards the staircase that were on the other side, the two teens covering the door laughed. "She saw through us. See if she can see this coming." One of the teens raised their leg ready to hurt Hinata with a roundhouse kick but was stopped. Neji Hyuuga stood between his cousin and the attacker, his hand around the teens ankle. "Touch her and you'll see what happens." The teen grinned, he backed away and left with his friend. "Neji…"

"Don't forget what I said. Let's go Lee." Giving one last smile Lee followed his teammates, Hinata shook the feelings away. "Who was that jerk anyway?" Naruto asked. Sasuke was impressed by the speed of Neji, it looked like Sasuke had some competition, including his own friend, Lee. From his physical appearance, the scrawny boy from childhood was gone and now stood a powerful ninja. "My brother."

"Brother?" Sasuke turned back to the conversation, "I thought you only had Hanabi."

"He's my cousin but to me he's like a brother. Anyways, let's head on up." Sasuke decided to let things pass, the expressions and the way the two cousin spoke to each other was far from odd. He would ask what was going on when the time came.

Classroom 301 was just ahead, the silver jounin stood right infront of it. "Glad you all showed up. Hinata, Naruto and Sasuke, I'm proud of you. Couldn't ask for a better team, good luck." Moving out the way, Kakashi watched with admiration in his eyes as his students took the next steps in becoming high ranking ninja.

There was an audible gulp coming from Naruto, both Hinata and Sasuke turned to look at their friend, he looked deathly pale. The ninja that had made their way to the academy were now in attendance, every head turned as the entered. "Sasuke!" Ino seductively said, she jumped onto Sasuke's back and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I've missed you."

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Let go of him." Sakura screamed, with her hands she tried prying away Ino's arms around her beloved Sasuke. Ino only held tighter and laughed at the pinkett. "So, you guys are here too. Ugh."

"Shikamaru, wow your actually here." The Uzumaki playfully said, Shikamaru let out a sigh and replied, "Yeah...yeah. Sasuke, Hinata." He nodded at them, Hinata gave him one of her smiles. Choji soon followed and waved a hello, his hands busy in getting out every single chip. Team Eight made an appearance, Hinata made her way to her old teammates and gave each one of them a hug, "Kiba, Shino and Akamaru. I've missed you all." Akamaru barked but stayed put on top of his owners head. "Rookie nine, all here. Eh."

"You guys, you should really keep it down." A slender teen, white-silvery hair and round glasses framing his face. Hinata had to keep herself in check before she caused any trouble. Kabuto had finally made an appearance, and Hinata was itching to end him.

Author's Note; Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter. And thank you for those lovely review! Guys, I can't believe we're already at chapter thirty! Thanks for sticking to the story! Noticed that it was mostly Hinata and Neji interaction...Which is fine by me, we need more of that. Can't wait to write the fight scene-Whoops spoiler. Another tidbit, Orochimaru is back at it again. And that cliffhanger...is it actually one.. next update! Wishing you guys a happy .


	31. Chapter 31 The forest of death

**Chapter Thirty One**

 **The forest of death**

Hinata avoided any eye contact with Kabuto, ignoring him would be the best thing to do. Her eyes scanned the room, she could feel all the glares, and eyes upon herself and the other rookies. It was the same as she remembered, and the same test as before. She turned back when she heard Gaara's name called out. Apparently Kabuto had showed his collection of chakra infused cards and Sasuke was taking advantage of that. "That's not fun, you know their names already. First up, Neji Hyuga." Hinata furrowed her brows and gave Sasuke a questioning look, he ignored her as he was too engrossed in the information he was about to receive. Hinata unconsciously looked for her cousin, she could feel his presence close but he was always good at concealing himself.

Hinata kept her eyes on every single person, while they had entered the building her eyes hadn't stopped searching for any signs of Orochimaru. From what Sasuke told her and the memories, the sannin was not going to miss his opportunity on Sasuke, Hinata never went up against him but from all the stories he was someone not to mess with. Not even the third could fully defeat him. Having trained eyes Hinata captured the exact moment as the three genin from land of sound approached her group, they were silent. Kabuto had seen the same thing as her, he easily dodged one attack but barely missed the second. The Hyuga stayed rooted to her spot, Naruto and Sakura both made their way to Kabuto's side as soon as he collapsed to the floor and vomited blood. The rookie nine had worried looks on their faces, if only they knew what this man was capable of. Her left hand rose and settled right where her heart could be felt, he did save her that one time, all those years she questioned why he did that. She never got an answer to that.

Without her consent, the heiress made way to Kabuto's saide and she activated her Byakugan, everything seemed in order just some damage cause by the sound waves. " You'll be fine. There wasn't a lot of damage to your organs...just a bit of rest will do." Was helping him the right choice? She told herself that she was repaying him for saving her, even if it hasn't happen this time. "Hm, Thanks." Kabuto thanked her while he let out a painful chuckle, "Need to add you to my card collection." Hinata said nothing further, her work was done, there were better things to worry about. "Listen up!" A booming voice filled the whole room, everyone turned their eyes from their group to the man in front. Ibiki Morino, the special forces of the anbu, the best interrogator there possibly was. "My name is Ibiki Morino, I will be your proctor for the first part of the chunin exams. You will be handed a number, sit in the seat with that same number." After everyone was seated, they all looked expectantly towards their proctor. Having an olive skin tone made the scars marring his face stand out, they were almost a pinkish color, jagged and torn. Ibiki knew on how to intimidate anybody, his body posture and build made it easier but what people had to worry about was him using his psychological techniques on them. He may look mean, he was someone not to cross but if given the chance to know him, he was a very sweet man, a man that suffered but still had a soft spot.

Memories of one fateful day caused Hinata to lose track of time and everything around her, the voice of Ibiki soon was lost and memories came, the last thought she had before her eyes glazed over was if she had taken her sweet violet and if she did, why wasn't it working.

"We have to go! Move everyone. MOVE!" The fire ravaged the whole building, burning everything that came into contact. Pieces of the ceiling began to collapse, the building was nearing its final moments. "The Hyuga is still in there!"

"Leave her, it's better this way."

"What?"

"One less of them, the better fo-" Ibiki dug his fingers on one of the villagers shoulder then turned him around, his eyes glaring at the man. "Where is she?" The man stuttered and just pointed with a shaky finger towards the burning building. Giving the man one last look he took several steps and stood in front of the building. The smoke rose up to the heavens, the rain did nothing to stop the flames, Ibiki almost turned back around. The fire reminding him of the terrible missions he'd gone through, but he remembered why he was a ninja and why he was running inside the blazing building. His feet carried him through each room, looking through rubble in case the Hyuga was anywhere around there. Nothing, that's when he heard it, a cough- barely audible. "Hyuga!" He paused and coughed, the dense smoke already filling his lungs. Hinata heard the voice, she didn't turn, she didn't do anything. Dying would be the best solution to many things, Toneri already killed her family, and the rest of the villages had hunted the remaining. Who did she have left? Naruto had been killed not too long ago along with Sakura. Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Hinata clawed at her bandaged eyes and forehead, she threw them to the side and began crying, her nails breaking the skin. "Hyuga."

"Leave me, please. It's my fault they died..I-I killed them."

"We don't have time for this, Hyuga."

"Leave, I don't want to be the cause of your death too." The building around them creaked and shook with each passing minute. "Be my guest, die. Give up, just like your whole family." Hinata stood up too fast, she swayed and fell to one knee, with her eyes closed she shakily stood back up. "They didn't give up"

"You are. People die everyday, by not fighting you're showing Toneri that he has won. What was the whole point of getting that on your forehead if you're just going to give up?"

Hinata thought long and hard, she was giving up. War meant that many people would die and on top of that it would be people she cared about. There was no changing that, but if she did something there could be some hope in saving the rest of the people, even if her whole clan had not made it. "Thank you." Although Hinata couldn't see it, Ibiki managed a small smile. "Dont thank me just yet, we have to get out of here first." Nodding Hinata followed the sound of his voice, she didn't make it past three steps before she collapsed. "I'm sorry. I can't see." Hinata felt a hand of her arm and felt herself being pulled up, "Here hold onto my jacket." A soft, leathery piece of clothing touched her fingers, she grasped it like a lifeline.

The building collapsed, the people watching the scene unfold only looked away or shook their heads. Ibiki nor the reaming Hyuga had made it out. "Where are they?" The same man from before got assaulted not by Ibiki but from Sasuke, his sharingan visible. "The man, Ibiki and the girl."

"I-Ibiki went in to save her, they never made it out. The buildings gone." The man gulped, Sasuke moved away and observed the building, they could not have made it out he concluded. And if they had, from the smoke in their lungs they wouldn't have much time to live.

"Hey, don't count us dead, yet." Through the thick smoke, two figures appeared. As they came closer Sasuke was able to see who they were. Ibiki was leading, behind him holding onto his jacket was Hinata. Sasuke pushed down the relieved feeling he got at seeing Hinata, he deactivated his sharingan and made his way to Ibiki and Hinata. The two men nodded to each other, Ibiki took Hinata's hand and unclasped her hands from his jacket and guided her hand towards Sasuke's poncho. "Thank you." Hinata managed to say before Ibiki left. The fabric felt familiar, Hinata cautiously rubber the material then placed both her hands on it. "Sasuke?"

"Hm." Relieved, the Hyuga wrapped her arms around Sasuke's middle, fresh tears appeared and she could not help but sob. Sasuke awkwardly patted her back. "Where's the idiot? Still saving others?" The sobs increased, Sasuke bent down to hear Hinata's incoherent shocking words. "Naruto is dead."

Startled Hinata opened her eyes, her exam in front of her; blank. Rubbing her eyes, the glaze look left her and awareness soon settled in. "You. Are you quitting?" Hinata quirked an eyebrow and shook her head no. "Then why are you standing up?" Again she was confused, she looked down and indeed she was standing up. She wondered how that happened. Her head turned in every direction, most of the seats were empty and there was a group of three walking out the door with their shoulder hunched in defeat. _The tenth question._ "I-I wanted to show that…"

"That we won't be intimidated, we will show you we can pass the tenth question." Naruto

stood up and pointed a finger at the proctor, he saw how Hinata was struggling to get the words out. The proctor let out a chuckle then after making sure no one else was going to quit he burst out laughing. "You all have passed." At first their was silence then Sakura let out a shriek, " What do you mean we passed? What about the question?" Letting out another chuckle he went on to explain the reason of the test.

Hinata tuned out the chatter, her head still spun from the still fresh images. The sweet violet was working far less now, she'd have to prepare something strong or take more than one dosage. She was not going to do that, it was an addicting concoction. Her hands scrubbed at her face, she looked at her blank paper and sighed. Instead of Naruto leaving his exam empty it was her. Ibiki was about to dismiss the students when out the window a shadowy figure sped his way, he moved out the way as two kunai whizzed past him and pierced themselves on either side of the chalk board. Once attached a banner appeared, then a person flew through the window and landed swiftly in the ground. " Hey there boys and girls. No time to celebrate I will be your proctor for the second part. Anko Mitarashi, are you all ready? Good, let's go!" Anko pumped the air with her fist, the students just regarded her with confused looks. "You're early again." Anko nervously chuckled.

"Hey Ibiki, are all of these who passed? Damn, your test must have been too easy."

"Or they're a strong batch."

"Hm. Trust me once I'm done with them, half will be eliminated." The second proctors demeanor changed, the air crackled with her smirk. "You've all had it easy, starting tomorrow you start the next part. Dismissed." Groggily Hinata followed her teammates, her energy was low. She had to stock up a lot tomorrow. Now, she needed to rest. Ibiki Morino strode up and down each row of tables, he picked up every single one of them but stopped. To his left was a blank sheet of paper, nothing was written not even a name. Who sat there? Was it the boy with the blond hair or was it the girl with black? Although they wrote nothing, they still passes. He chuckled to himself and went on his way.

As the day worn on, everyone that had passed the first part, all met in front of a gated forest. The forest of Death greeted them. The second part had begun

 **Author's note** ; Hello, hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I'm coming to the conclusion that I might not be able to update weekly, maybe once every two weeks. **But that is not something set**! Anyways, you might have noticed I am going pretty fast on this chapter, A) don't have enough time to write and B) Ihave reason as to why-story wise and stuff. Till next time. Adios.


	32. Chapter 32 Second phase starts

Chapter Thirty Two

Second Phase Starts

The forest of death apparently was given its name for several reasons, the inhabitants were man eating beasts, insects in the size of rocks and various types of poisonous plants. It wasn't an easy feat to come out alive. Most if not all of the participants blood had drained from their faces, they looked pale and weak at their proctors words. Naruto being Naruto, and having more self confidence made the mistake to scoff at Anko and on top of that not taking the threats seriously. In an instant Anko had thrown a kunai towards Naruto, the blade grazed his cheek making it bleed. The blade whizzed past someone else before it struck the grass. "Kid, you don't want to get on my bad side." Anko was behind Naruto, touching his bleeding cheek and a fake smile plastered on her porcelain face. The Uzumaki was left in shock, Sasuke shook his head and there was an audible gasp from the crowd.

Anko's hand twitched to retrieve another blade at feeling a foreign presence right behind her, her head moved to the left. A long slimy tongue held out the kunai from earlier. It was a Grass ninja, with an easily forgettable face. With the fake smile still placed Anko reached for the blade, the tongue unwrapped itself but the ninja stayed put. " Thank you Grass Ninja. You shouldn't be so close, don't want the same thing happening to you as this kid."

"My apologies, I was just returning it. All this talk about bloodshed got me riled up." Their tone held no emotion, the ninja stepped back beside his awaiting teammates. Having nothing further to say, Anko moved away and went back to the front.

Hinata eyes traveled to the ninja, their face was obscured by their straw hat. Hinata felt something odd about them, her ninja training alerted her to be cautious. _Could it be Orochimaru?_ Her eyes widen, her eyes scanned the ninja, smooth black hair, dark eyes. Nothing out of the ordinary. She was not sure if it really was him but she made sure to capture every little detail and save it for later.

"Alright listen up. I will be handing out a consent form, all of you must sign it if you want to make into the next phase."

"Why the consent form?" Someone in the crowd asked.

"Well if you die or get hurt it won't be my responsibility." Anko gave a short laugh then continued. "Read it over. Once you have signed it, your team will be given a scroll and a map detailing the forest."

"What's this test about?" Sakura asked, everyone else shook their heads in agreement.

"The objective is to have both the Earth and Heaven scroll to this location by exactly five days, that is the limit." Choji wailed in shock, he rummaged through his packed lunch making sure he had enough food to last the the five days. Half of you will receive either the earth or heaven, more than half of you will fail."

"And we won't know what team has what scroll." Sakura interjected. Anko smiled in delight, seeing that Ibiki was right, they were a strong batch. "You have five minutes." Every team scattered, each weighing the risks.

After the five minutes were up, each team was called, they handed their forms in and got their scroll and waited for further instruction.

"Few more things. Don't dare open the scroll. If you do you don't want to know what happens. And word of advice. Don't. Die." Everyone gulped then made their way to their chosen gate. At exactly 2:30 the gates were open, all shinobi ran in while others took more of a cautious approach. "All of this is troublesome. Stuck with the both of you. What a drag." Shikamaru lazily said, he looked up but the clouds were hidden by the massive trees. He let out a sigh and kept on walking only to stop at Ino's dramatic shriek. "What are you doing? Eating at a time like this!" Choji sat cross legged, bag of chips in hand and his mouth munching in delight. "I'm sorry, I can't help it." Ino's eye twitched in anger, Shikamaru for once agreed with Ino but just admired their surroundings. A sound, inaudible but loud enough that Shikamaru was able to pinpoint it. He took a hold of both this teammates and dragged them to the nearest bushes, concealing their chakra to the best of their abilities. Three genin appeared, they landed quietly, their eyes roaming the area, "I swear, I heard them in this direction."

"Keep looking. They're only rookies, what would they know about survival." One of them chuckled. Shikamaru bit his tongue, not far from the leader of the team were three chips ready to be crushed and for them to be discovered.

"Let's move out, daylight won't last us." They scurried away, team ten let out individual breaths, all of them pretty shaken.

Team eight had a plan, after they had entered the forest, they set to work. Kiba would have wanted Hinata at the moment, her Byakugan would make them have the upper hand; making it easy to find the scroll they needed and the whereabouts of enemies. Sakura was smart, so that was a plus, when it came down to it she was good in the field. " Sakura tell me what you see." Shino asked, letting his bugs do some scavenging. The pinkett let out a shudder as she watched Shino's bugs.

"Huh? Oh, the trees give us cover, but aside from that is something we could use at our advantage." Kiba raised an eyebrow in interest.

"How so?" Sakura pointed up to the trees, her answer visible.

"There they are, the rookies."

"Standing their in the open as if they wouldn't be spotted."

"They know we're here, might as well atta-" The ninja was unable to finish, a large reddish insect fell on his shoulder, he tried shaking it off but it only caused him pain. "What the?" Up above a swarm of them fell, attaching themselves to their prey; sucking up as much blood as possible. Kiba smirked, his fangs visible, Shino said nothing as the genin were drying up. Sakura felt her gagging reflexes, she covered her mouth in disgust as their screams filled the darkening skies. "Well, there's one team down."

Team seven had been roaming the forest for about an hour and a half, Hinata using her Byakugan in short moments as to not strain it. Hinata deactivated it as soon as her eyes began to water, she rubbed at them and blinked several times. Naruto took noticed and declared a five minute rest, Hinata wanted to protest but a look from Sasuke stopped her.

"Since we are resting...I'm going for a bathroom break. Be right back, I won't be far." So far the exam was running smoothly, no attacks, no chakra signatures...no one. It was eerily quiet for Sasuke. By the way Hinata kept looking around she was getting impatient as well but he didn't know that it was for a whole different reason.

The last time Hinata was in the forest was when she was taking the exam with her previous teammates, and during that time everything went smoothly, they were the first team to acquire both scrolls and make it to the tower in record time. Now that she wasn't in it she wondered if her friends were doing fine, if Sakura was doing her best and if they would even make it to the tower in time. Without her Byakugan to aid them. There were low and high risks for everyone, in team seven the risks were higher; Orochimaru was actively searching for Sasuke and Naruto's control of the fox. Things would be different for her.

"Sorry I took so long. Hehe." Naruto said while stepping over some bushes and rubbing the back of his head. Sasuke's took one look at his teammates and immediately knew something was off, when Naruto was close enough, Sasuke striked. His fist hitting the side of Naruto's face, he stumbled backwards at the impact. Hinata knowing Sasuke would not do anything without a reason, studied Naruto and the differences were obvious. It was an imposter.

"Where's Naruto." Hinata said all the while she took out a kunai and activated her Byakugan. Ignoring the pain, she found Naruto squirming not far from them. "He's about twenty feet from us." Sasuke nodded at the information. "What about the rest of his teammates?"

"Checked, he's the only one here." The imposter chuckled, in a puff of smoke he reverted back to his original appearance. A teen, wearing a pale yellow jumpsuit and an apparatus covering his mouth. It made his voice staticky and lower. "For rookies you two figured me out. Can't say the same about the other one. He did put up a fight though."

"You won't win this fight."

"I may be alone on this but your luck has ran out. Which one of you has the scroll?" The ninja crouch, a kunai in hand and ready to sprint. "None of you will say, fine then I'll have to kill you both." He took a leap and eased towards Hinata, Sasuke leaped in the air, formed a hand sign and out of his mouth came out twenty small fireballs, they hit the ground but the ninja avoided each of them. Both Sasuke and the ninja met in mid air their kunai's clashing against each other, they separated and the ninja leapt away.

Watching as Sasuke was taking care of the ninja Hinata took the opportunity and made her way to where Naruto was tied up. His screams stopped as soon as he saw Hinata, he gave a thank you and went on his way to help Sasuke. She watched both boys attack, she turned around and reactivated her bloodline and set about placing traps. A gurgling sound caused her to look up, both Naruto and Sasuke had impaled the ninja right in the chest, their blood staining their jumpsuit. Having seen he had no chance in winning, the wounded ninja retreated in hopes of treating his wounds. Not wasting time, Hinata set out and made various traps around her chosen perimeter, she used her chakra and molded alerts over the whole camp. It required a lot of chakra but she couldn't risk anything happening again. Her two friends joined her, then walked around their camp to cool down and lower their heart rate.

"We have to have a password." Hinata declared, she made final adjustments and scanned the area one last time. Both the Uchiha and Uzumaki said at the same time,"Password?"

"With what happened today, we can't trust appearances. I know you're thinking the same." They both looked away and thought about it, and both knew Hinata was right.

"Fine, it has to be something us three will only know." Sasuke looked at his two friends and already had a password in mind."The question will be, when does a ninja strike? The answer to that will be, A ninja waits until the time is right,when the enemy sleeps and drops their guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike."

"Uh...sure..sure a ninja and striking. Yeah, at night. I got this." Naruto responded casually, to both Sasuke and Hinata they knew he had not memorized the password, Sasuke sent Hinata a look and she understood it. The password wasn't meant to be one, it was meant to be a trap. Anybody trying to act as Naruto would recite the password, but they wouldn't know that Naruto had not memorized anything at all.

There was an alert, Hinata's palm burned, she raised her hand and saw some sort of wind heading their way. She stood up and both boys followed her lead, a gust of wind hurdled through, throwing the three teammates away from each other. In the middle of a long crater stood a grass shinobi, they raised their head and their eyes searched for someone. Their tongue flickered out at finding what they had been looking for.

Author's Note.: Hello lovely readers. Things are starting to get interesting. Im super excited for the next ! Anyways, hoped you enjoyed it. I actually had enough time to write this and be satisfied with it. And uhm _**LilyVampire; The sweet violet helps with physical pains, which Hinata uses whenever she has attacks( Memories) It's not working anymore. Shit will go down because of this.)**_

 _ **Midnightsanglesflame; I never did mention how many uchiha are alive did I, as of now I don't have a number. Let's just say it's around twenty or so.**_ Alright, till next update _ **.**_


	33. Chapter 33 Branded

**Chapter Thirty Three**

 **Branded**

Naruto let out a huff of air, his eyes darted all around trying to find his two teammates. No one was around only for the eerie sounds coming from deep within the forest. With an aching body he straighten himself and stood up from the ground. He dusted himself but stopped midway. A low hissing sound was close to him, he gulped and slowly turned around. A giant snake beared its fangs, Naruto thought quickly and darted out the way, seeing that his prey ran away the snake wrapped its body around the boy. Naruto let out a scream as he struggled, he could tell he would die any moment if the snake decided to squeeze. His eyes widen with fear as the snake opened its mouth and swallowed him whole.

Orochimaru stood in the middle of the crater, his disguise still in place. He licked his lips in satisfaction. Sasuke was near and that made him giddy. Time to test that theory of his. He made no movements, "Child, hiding will do you no good." As soon as he said that Hinata appeared armed with weapons. Orochimaru smirked, he let the surprise linger on his face for a moment before his cool facade slipped back. "Ah, the Hyuga, I was expecting someone else."

"I don't doubt it. You won't get to him this time." Hinata would stop Orochimaru before he got his hands on Sasuke, she would do _anything_. She wondered how many times she'd have to do that. The image of Orochimaru standing there proudly sent shivers down Hinata's spine, no- it wasn't fear, she was afraid of what she was capable of doing to him. "Your teammate is near, the Uchiha-

"Enough." Orochimaru was taken aback at the hHuga's voice, it didn't waiver at his presence. He let a smile linger on his face before taking his hand and bringing something out. It was a scroll and it was the scroll team seven needed to complete the test. "Very well." The ninja took the scroll and placed it overhead its expanding mouth, in one movement the scroll was gone and now inside the grass ninjas body.

Fighting the Hyuga's was not in Orochimaru's plans at all, the Uchiha was his ultimate mission. Testing his strength and ability to snap out of life threatening situation. But now, since the Hyuga was present he was more than happy to oblige in her fight with him. There definitely was something he wanted out of her and fighting her would show him exactly what she was made of. And now their fight began. Hinata activated her byakugan, not far from her she could see Sasuke hiding; his chakra concealed and his whole body crying out to move. Honestly that was the way she wanted to keep things, if he ever interfered it would only risk many things. Orochimaru replied with his own move, he raised the hem of his sleeve up to his elbow; there on his arm were two lines around his forearm, with his other hand he bit down on his thumb and smeared the blood on the lines. In a puff of smoke there stood a giant snake, baring its fangs and awaiting its masters next order. Instincts kicked in. she took a leap and once in mid air she launched several weapons at the snake and Orochimaru. Seeing the attack Orochimaru, sent a wave of air towards Hinata, hurdling her through the air. Her body twisted until her back hit a tree, as it made contact her body poofed away. "A clone."

Without making a sound Hinata jumped off the highest tree, her figure heading down at the snake and Orochimaru's body. With her fist charged with chakra she let out a scream as her fist landed dead center on the snake's head, but her bloodline limit captured the moment Orochimaru escaped. The snake was summoned back to where it came from, Hinata only had seconds to react, behind her was now Orochimaru, his arms stretched out and wrapped themselves around her body. Her whole body was trapped, any move she made only caused him to tighten his hold on her, "Now, lets see you survive the fall." Panicking, Hinata looked down, her panic only rose as she saw Sasuke appear, his sharingan present. "No!" Not wanting things to repeat themselves, the Hyuga closed her eyes and drew in air. She focus on her body and the chakra surrounding her. It took her three tries but at the last one she sent out all the chakra she could out of chakra points, the arms around her shredded to pieces at the force of it all. Hinata paid no mind at not hearing no pain filled screams coming from Orochimaru, only a last remark, "This is getting interesting."

Naruto squirmed and yelled with the hope that someone would hear him and help him, but he already knew no one would help, who would want to deal with a giant snake just to save him? His voice was hoarse, and his body wanted to relax, to die. Naruto was ready to give up, to call it quits. Thing was he couldn't do that just yet, he remembered why he need to live, remembered all the things he promised himself he would prove not for others but himself. His eyes opened and they were laced with determination, he was ready to live and ready to find his two friends. With the little space he had he managed to form a handsign, the snake blew into thousands of pieces, standing beside the snake's corpse were multiple Naruto's all of them covered in blood and slime. "Alright guys, let's find our teammates. They all poofed away save for Naruto, he cleaned himself as best as he could and began to search, he followed the screams.

Swaying on her feet, Hinata kept her blurry vision on Orochimaru's figure standing over Sasuke's unconscious body. Her knees gave out, her hands caught her fall but the cuts on her hands burned that her whole body collapse completely. Everything about the scene felt familiar, she had been in a similar situation, it was with Naruto. That day pain assaulted the village, the day Naruto tried fighting for everyone and the day she rose from her family and decided to take a stand. That days she confessed her love to him, the day she almost died because of him and it was happening all over again. That same feeling of weakness stirred though her, disappointment , she could hear her father's words. She blinked the tears away and lifted her head, Orochimaru was in no better state, his hands were gone, his disguise was peeling off, the side of his face was showing his true appearance. "I wasn't disappointed, Hinata. You truly gave me a fight." He crouched beside Sasuke, Hinata forced her body to move, she placed her hands on either side of her her, then shakily got to her hands and knees. "You proved a worthier opponent than Sasuke did."

"G-Get away from him." Hinata spat. Her byakugan would not turn on, she had over used it throughout the battle. "Trust me, he wished he showed more of his power...I'll bestow him a gift, a gift of power." Helplessly Hinata watched as Orochimaru opened his mouth, his teeth sinking into sasuke's neck. He let out no screams, nothing to show he got branded a curse. "Now, It's your turn." Hinata made no move to get away. She felt like a failure, she had failed to protect Sasuke from the curse that causes him to leave, to prove his strength, to seek out that power to kill his brother. "I'm sorry Sasuke, I couldn't prevent it." She whispered, "Sending me back and I still can't do anything right." Hinata faintly felt a presence get close to her, she pushed back and looked straight at Orochimaru's eyes. She stood still as his teeth came into contact with her neck, there was nothing she could do but let it happen, her strength was gone right after she had an attack, her sweet violet could only help so much. The teeth broke skin and the only indication she had been branded was the fire she felt burn through her. Her screams were heard from all over the forest, anybody that close to their location backed away as fast as possible.

Naruto sped up at the screams, they were coming from the same place he last seen his two teammates. He came to halt at what he saw. Hinata was on the floor screaming, her body twisting in pain and Sasuke was unconscious. "HINATA!" Naruto landed beside her, cradling her body in his own, "It's okay, I'm here. God, what- who did this." His hand shook at every scream she let out, he looked around trying to figure out what had occurred. There were broken trees, singe marks everywhere. A major fight had taken place. "Sasuke! Wake up!" He wanted to move and stir Sasuke awake but he was halted by the screams.

"They'll be fine." Naruto lifted his head at the sound, " The scroll you seek will be in the hands of the sound ninja."

"W-What? Who are you...show yourself."

"Heh, in due time." Naruto was left alone, Hinata had stopped screaming and now she was fast asleep. There was no one to help him, he was on his own.

 **Author's Note;** Hello...I'm sorry this chapter didn't make it last week. There were a few things I was dealing with and I just didn't want to give you guys a shitty chapter to read. You guys deserve better than that. The plan was to get it up my tuesday then that turned to wednesday. Anyways, I managed to get the chapter done and updated. I hope the wait was worthwhile. So the **updates will be back to normal-every monday, that is if I don't go through things.** Hoped you enjoyed it and until next chapter. Adios.


	34. Chapter 34 Sound Ninja

**Chapter Thirty Four**

 **Sound Ninja**

How long has it been since Hinata felt such peace? Days? Months, years? Who knew. The only feeling that felt familiar was the pain, the constant searing pain she felt in her veins, deep inside her bloodstream. Navigating all through her system and leaving pain in its wake. _Did Sasuke suffer like this?_ She wondered, if he did...she couldn't fathom how he could keep living. Curse seals, she was familiar with them- she had to be. This time though, she had no idea what type of curse she was branded with. Orochimaru was many things and if he wanted something he would achieve it any way he could.

Hinata had her bottom lip between her teeth, she bit harder as the waves of pain hit her, _please, make it stop._ She pleaded, then she felt a familiar presence; made her feel safe and sound. "Hinata." The voice was cool, their voice was not tainted with concern but she could feel they did. "Open your eyes." She shook her head no, if she did the tears she'd been holding back would break free. "Open them." With no other choice, Hinata fluttered her eyelids before fully opening them. They widen with recognition, "Sasuke?" The sides of his lips quirked up slightly. "You! Why?" Hinata stood up, forgetting about the pain she marched over to Sasuke and looked up at him. Her eyes demanding answers. "Why did you send me? You could have been here...wi-helping me." Hinata said, her head shaking with each word. She suddenly stopped and took a step back, "you're not real. Just a memory."

"I'm here."

"No...it's the curse mark, making me see things I want to see." Sasuke stayed put, he watched as a person he came to call a friend was suffering and it was because of him. The next news would most likely hurt her more.

With careful steps as to not scare Hinata, Sasuke stood behind her, his breath tickling the nape of her neck. "The world you know is gone." He saw her tense, saw her chest stop and she slowly turned around to face him. A million thoughts coursed through her mind, and still she couldn't not come to terms with his statement. "What do you mean?" Her eyes clashed with his own and without looking away he answered her. "You know what I mean." Her worried expression crumbled, eyebrows furrowed and her mouth opened in a silent sob. Her tears left tracks down her face, her hand came up to her mouth and muffled the sounds. Between her cries she managed to get out a few words.

"T-that means you're dead...and everyone else. Ho...how am I alive!" He offered her no hug, no consolation. Just his presence.

"Alternate timeline." Was his only response. His hand twitched to reach out to her, to comfort her but he would only do so if she wanted it. Her left hand came to rest in sasuke's chest, her fingers curled onto the fabric of his vest, she pulled. That was his cue, his arms wrapped around her torso and his chin rested on top of her head. "You're gone." He grunted, letting her know she was right. She buried her face in his chest, her cries wracking her body. "That was a hell of a fight." Hinata managed to giggle but it died out, " Are you praising me?"

"Hinata, I have to go." Her hands held onto him harder, "No. Let me go with you." She wanted to desperately go with him, be with the people she grew up with. "You know you can't. I won't apologize for what I did."

"I know." Hinata gazed up, her tears had stopped but her heart still felt heavy.

Naruto kept his eyes wide open, sleep wanted to take over but he had to stay awake. After he found Hinata and Sasuke he was left alone, in the darkness with no hint of what had occurred. As soon as nightfall descended he scouted an area that would work as shelter and a place to hide. He didn't want to be caught in the middle of something he wouldn't be able to escape. Now, he laid still, watching hinata's irregular breathing pattern, she was shaking and she kept mumbling random things. He rubbed his eyes with his palms, he closed his eyes for a moment then jerked awake. _I have to stay awake._ Trying to keep himself awake, Naruto took a piece of cloth and tapped Hinata's sweating forehead, she moved her head to the side and Naruto noticed some type of bruise on her neck. Blinking he noticed it wasn't a bruise it was three tomoe's shaped in a spiral. "What the?"

"What a look out you are." Naruto straightened up and turned around, his hand going to his weapons pouch. He glared at the three man team, two males and one female. His blue eyes roamed each person and he caught the symbol carved on their headbands. _Sound ninja. "_ You! All of you have something to do with what happened to my friends. That voice said you'd come. Why?" Naruto spoke, his eyes on them and his kunai ready to activate any traps.

Deeper in the woods was Neji Hyuga, and his two teammates, TenTen and Lee, they were in a semi circle facing each other. TenTen looked around as she sipped her cannister of water, Lee was ready to take on anything and be ready for the next test. Neji mildly chuckled, "We meet back here in an hour, sharp." He threw a Kunai in front of him, Tenten nodded and Lee crouched ready to move. All three of them scouted their own areas, they were aware that if they found themselves against anyone that they would not engage, Neji hoped Lee would not do anything stupid. So far everything had been running smoothly, he'd seen about two different groups and mentally mapped out their location. There was one team in particular he wanted to see, team seven, he needed to know how his dear cousin was doing, maybe got herself killed already. That thought scared him a little. As he looked around he felt something, he came to halt and analyzed the feeling. Something was wrong, the only thing he could think of was Hinata. Some force guided him towards her, his mind screamed for him to stop and turn around but his body moved on its own accord. His heart raced with tension, _what have you gotten yourself into?_

"Neji!" Neji turned his head, TenTen was right beside him with a worried expression on her face, "I found you...Lee, he's in trouble." Neji made a face but continued forward, "What did that fool do this time."

"Protecting Naruto." He said nothing, he would deal with him after he knew why he was protecting the fox's vessel.

Naruto laid paralyzed beside Lee, the sound ninja were relentless in their attacks, he thought he could take them on once Lee showed up but that was proven wrong. _Let me out child._

The nine tails called out to him. Naruto grinded his teeth, out of all the things available he didn't want to rely on the nine tails chakra. _It's the only way to help them._ Naruto relented as more of his friends showed up, he knew they were watching, he could feel them. All of rookie nine were present, all of his friends were there to help him and his teammates. He looked over at Sasuke and Hinata, both were shaking and sweat ran down their faces. _Don't worry. I got this._ Naruto felt the nine tails chakra seep into his own, restoring his energy. As the chakra settled in, the sound ninja were unaware of what was happening. The female ninja made her way towards Sasuke and Hinata but before she could reach them someone jumped between them. "Another one, how many are there going to be?" The female said annoyingly, she looked over at the girl standing in front, she had long pink hair. "Such beautiful hair. It would be a shame if it were cut off." Sakura stood her ground, threats were nothing new to her but she did jerk in fright at the idea of her hair getting chopped off. "Stand aside. You can't win this."

"No, but with help we will." Sakura was left speechless, the rookie nine stood with her, all of them ready to fight alongside each other.

Neji came face to face with a disturbing scene. Lee was unconscious and beside him was Sakura trying to tend to his wounds. Clearly she did not know what she was doing, her finger shook every time she touched him. Her long hair was now short and layer, Ino covered for her as her teammates tried stopping the sound ninja from getting close to Sasuke. He furrowed his eyebrows, his white orbs scanned the scene. After finding who he was looking for, something inside him broke. Hinata was on the floor clutching her head and shaking, Sasuke has awaken and a purple aura surrounded his being. Neji panicked as the purple aura surrounded his cousin and her eyes opened. There was something different about her, cold and distant. She stood up and stood next to Sasuke, his eyes captured as Naruto stood up then walked beside his two teammates, a red orange aura surrounding him, he was feral and bloodthirsty. Team seven looked deadly, the rest of the teams stared in amazement and shuddered at emotions radiating from their friends.

 **Authors note**. Hey guys. Usually I post the chapter super early but I was caught up on work, don't think I forgot to post. Also hoped you enjoy this chapter, since I'm not good at writing battles I will try my hardest on the next chapter to deliver that. And thank you so much for those lovely reviews! Alright till next update, have a happy monday. Adios


	35. Chapter 35 Savagery

**Chapter Thirty Five**

 **Savagery**

At last they had woken up from their slumber, their darkest memories and emotions torturing them, making them exactly what Orochimaru wanted. The fox's vessel was not meant to happen but he wasn't too worried about that. Orochimaru stared at the scene one last time before he left, he needn't see what the outcome would be, he would know soon enough.

Hinata felt her control slipping from her grasp, her actions were not her own but at the same time they were. All those memories she was forced to face, it was like dying and seeing your whole life flash all at once. It felt like that but the memories never stopping coming forth, emotions fed the curse. Hinata clenched her hands, her fingers dug into her palm, the pain was meant to snap her out, it only made it worse. She could see through her eyes, feel everything...and yet it wasn't her. Knowing she was still there, she looked around, to her left was Sasuke and to her right was Naruto; the nine tails chakra seeping out of him in waves, his eyes were dilated and there was something feral about him. The Hyuga could see why, not far from Naruto was Sakura clutching onto Lee, her hands searching for any wounds. Ino stood in front of her, glaring daggers at the female sound ninja.

That scene caused Hinata great pain, anger dominated the rest of her emotions. The curse rejoiced. All of her friends were helping them when they didn't ask for it, they could have avoided everything. They were getting hurt because of her neglect, her actions at not stopping things. The curse flared even more, her whole being shook with the force of it all. Hinata shook her head then smirked, she was letting the curse gain what it wanted, stopping it would be futile. So she let it run its course, if she let it have control only for a while she could easily _kill_ the enemy, the ones to cause harm, just thinking about the ways she could carry that out made her wince. But the power surged through her making lose her concentration. The left side of her face felt odd, something was crawling all over her skin spreading like a virus. Her byakugan activated, she was now able to see everything and everyone. One figure caught her attention, her cousin was high on a tree with Tenten, observing the scene. For a second Hinata regained control, the cloud was lifting by just looking at Neji. Everything was ruined when snippets of memories flashed in front of her eyes, the most prominent one was her cousin's death. The helplessness she felt returned ten fold and she once again thrown back into the darkness.

Neji Hyuga contemplated jumping down, he wondered what he would do next, what would be his next steps. He could jump down and do nothing or run up to Hinata, _why would I do that?_ The simple answer was he was bound to protect the main house and another reason- a reason he would rather not think about. For now he could only watch as his cousin was consumed by something, the dark energy danced around her. Then his eyes widen as Hinata's left side of her face, neck and arms began to be covered by dark figures and the same thing was happening to the Uchiha. Neji felt his teammate cower in fear, he didn't blame her he felt it too. "Lee, we ha-"

"Quiet.." Neji kept his eyes focused on team seven, then his eyes went to search the sound ninja. All three except one had smirks plastered on their face, the leader of the team stepped back in caution. "Finally he has awoken. Let's get on with it." the younger screamed at Sasuke's direction, Sasuke spared him one glanced and then looked over at his friends. That moment things changed, Naruto followed his two teammates next moves, they synchronized perfectly.

In a blur Hinata was standing right behind the female sound ninja, her hands gliding over the girls long straight hair. "Such long hair, similar to my friends hair over there." Hinata said in a low voice, the girl was about to make a move but she was yanked back by her hair. Hinata clicked her tongue, "Wrong move, you see my friend...she loved her hair. And I know that you hold such feelings towards your own." Hinata then tangled her fingers into the girl's hair and pulled. The ninja let out a yelp and reached back but Hinata stopped her with another pull, she kicked the back of her knees and the ninja fell.

"Your face, it would be a shame if something were to happened to it." With that, Hinata took out a kunai and glided the weapon down the girl's face, pressing the tip onto the skin.

"Hinata!" The Hyuga looked up but kept the weapon firm, Sakura had screamed and that was enough for the female ninja to make a run for it. She used her elbow and connected it with Hinata's side, she took a step forward and stood up. The ninja made a hand sign and was ready to attack Hinata.

Naruto, heard a scream but he kept his eyes focused on his prey, the leader kept backing with each step he took forward, Naruto felt immense satisfaction at the man's fear. He stalked forward then in a blur he stood in front of his prey, his hand went up, his nails long and ready to slash. The ninja managed to cover his face but his arms got the damage. After getting hit he sprinted away only to be caught by Naruto once again. He growled and crouched, the nine tails chakra whipping around him matching his emotions. "You've hurt my friends. That's something I won't forgive." Naruto sprang and attacked, at first it was hand to hand combat and it soon was getting boring to him. The fight escalated to a new level as the ninja counter attacked, every time he glanced at his fallen friends his anger grew and each blow was stronger.

"Someone, stop them. They're going to kill them!" Sakura pleaded, Ino was rooted to the spot trying to move and do something but she couldn't. The horrifying scene before her kept her from doing anything. She looked over at Shikamaru, he shook his head. "What do you expect me to do? I'm not a fool to get in their way."

"Please, if they continue-" Sakura's words died down as the females sound ninjas screams filled the air, Hinata had the ninja beneath her, one knee pressed up on the girl's chest. Hinata took out a kunai and raised on of the girl's hand and pierced the weapon through her palm and buried it on the ground. The ninja let out a piercing scream, Hinata chuckled,"You'll be fine I made sure not to hit any vitals, yet." With the byakugan activated Hinata hit some minor chakra points and continued with her ministrations. "I'm making sure you won't do anything," The ninja took a deep breath and spitted on Hinata's face.

Hinata could feel what would come next, she tried controlling her actions , she wanted it to happen she wanted to do it but that didn't mean it was the right thing to do. Now she regretted letting the curse take over her, let the power seduce her. Her hand gripped the girl's chin and with her other hand she began carving the girl's pretty face, her ears picked up her agony and yet she didn't relent. The hatred needed to be fed, she slashed until she was satisfied with her work. Then suddenly her movements stopped, she began to stand up and move away from the girl. She desperately tried moving, "I'm sorry Hinata. Had to stop you some way." With her bloodline activated she saw Shikamaru with his hands in a sign, "Shadow possession jutsu." He announced.

"Let me go, let me finish."

"No can do, you've done enough."

"Trust me. I have a lot to go." Shikamaru continued talking, he needed her to calm down before his jutsu wore out. His assumptions were correct after he visibly saw her body twitched back into her control. Hinata cracked her knuckles, before she could take a step further a figure landed not far from her, their eyes matching her own. "Neji."

"What's happened to you." Hinata stumbled backwards at his words, this wasn't the Neji she was used to, this was her Neji, the one from her timeline, so familiar and wrong at the same time. "Move," her words fell on deaf ears. Neji without thinking reached out to her, his hand infused with chakra , ready to strike if need be. Seeing she wasn't going to do anything he touched his cousin's forehead, as his skin touched her heated one she collapsed to the ground clutching her head, she let out scream as the black symbols receded. On her forehead a purple outline appeared. Neji's eyes widen, he moved forward then moved Hinata's bangs away , there bright as daylight was a mark; similar to the seal the branch family were branded with. She continued to scream, Neji embraced Hinata, he ignored the feelings that came after his actions.

After hearing Hinata's screams, Naruto halted his actions and back away from the ninja. He gave his prey on last look before he made his way to his fallen teammate, watching her in pain made him snap back, the nine tails chakra dissipated leaving his own. The feral aura was gone and its place was concern. With his eight ended hearing Naruto picked up the sound of bones cracking, he looked over his shoulder and Sasuke was still in his trance. He had the younger ninjas arms behind his back, a foot place in the center of his spine , and the sound ninjas arms ripped off the sockets of his shoulders. The Uchiha pushed the boy away and stalked over to Naruto's side. Sasuke stopped, then crouched beside Neji and Hinata, his fingers traced the outline of her face, slowly the curse mark retreated back to where it came. Sasuke swayed and Naruto caught him. "You proved yourselves, in return we give you the scroll and you let us go." Rookie nine watched in amazement as the ninja took out a scroll and placed it on the ground, exhausted from their fights both Sasuke and Naruto watched as the leader took his two teammates and left without giving another glance at them. It was silent for a while three minutes, Tenten jumped down from the tree and went straight to Lee, as she passed Neji she only gave him a nod.

"Is she alright?" Kiba asked, Akamaru barked asking the same question. He jumped off his master's head and laid beside Hinata. Neji abruptly stood up letting Hinata's body fall to the ground, Shino managed to catch her head in time. Neji walked over to Tenten and spoke to her, she nodded. After a while Neji's team was gone. Ino stood behind Sakura, she was adjusting her short messy hair. "There, all better now...it will grow back though." She said after a while. Sakura was silent throughout the whole thing. Everyone was trying to wrap their heads around what had occurred.

 **Author's note** ; Hello there lovely readers, hoped you enjoyed this chapter.

 **HoneyWriter78** ; Thank you for the kind review and as for the guest, it actually doesn't really bother me much. They probably expect me feel something towards their negative comments it actually makes me laugh. That's why I don't really delete the comments, people like them are everywhere I'm training myself to just ignore them and continue. But if it is bothering some of the readers then I will consider taking them down. Once again thank you.

 **Varna's havoc** ; Thank you for the review, it fuels me to keep going.

Alright, until the next chapter, Adios.


	36. Chapter 36 Then there were two

Chapter Thirty Six

Then there were two

As far as anyone could say, something very important had just happened, the rookie nine were too surprised to say anything. Until they were away from their friends they would be able to speak of the events. Everyone could see Sasuke and Naruto lose control of themselves but Hinata was questionable, it was unheard of. They never seen her eyes hold so much hatred, she was kind and looked out for everyone so, it was surprising to see her in such a state. Unsure what to do next everyone left after making sure team seven was able to continue in their way.

No one spoke, they were all consumed with their own thoughts and feelings to notice that the three were going through something similar. Naruto had decided to leave, preferring to wash his body in the stream ahead. Sasuke set up camp and placed simple traps around their campsite, he was left alone with his own thoughts. Hinata looked down at her hands free of the blood that once marred them, remembering the girls face, full of pain as each stroke of her blade made contact with her fair skin. Hinata tried desperately to tune the haunting screams, she shoved away the feelings that came with it. She tried to tell herself that she'd done worse, done things she was not proud of. Toneri's rein made her realize that certain things had to happen, difficult choices had to be made even if that meant killing- killing people who she once called friends. Clenching her hands into fists she reasoned that things couldn't continue the way they were. One of her hands unclenched and touched the side of her neck where the curse mark lay, she had to control it as best as she could, if her emotions got out of hand who knows what she would do if there was no one to stop her. Neji came to mind, he had stopped her and for that she was grateful. Hinata could still feel his touch, his thin fingers barely touching her skin. Then she remembered. Hinata scurried to the body of water near her and looked at her reflection. She looked the same except that her hair had grown longer and there was still blood on her face. Ignoring all of that she raised her bangs away and let out a sigh of relief that only lasted a few moments before she let out a gasp.

Her seal she had created with Naruto was on display, it was faint but still there. The only way it was noticeable was if someone was looking for it. Hinata furrowed her eyebrows, her eyes filled with concern. She was confused to say the least, the seal was not supposed to appear much less at that moment in time, she was not supposed to have it-yet. With one finger she traced the faint outlines trying to figure out how the seal came to form. Her mind raced with many questions and all of them with no answers. Making sure that her two teammates were not near her, she removed her clothing leaving only her undergarments. Not thinking twice she submerged deep under the water, it's cool temperature cooling her down and arranging her messy thoughts.

Toneri was confused as much as Hinata, his own questions plaguing his mind. Since his last encounter with Hinata he had stayed away. All alone in his room thinking about why he was back, why of all people was he chosen to return. He knew the Hyuga asked herself that question over and over again and even though she got a partial answer it still was not enough. Letting out a sigh he stood up from his bed and paced back and forth in his bedchamber. _You can't escape what you will become._ Toneri shut his eyes, willing the thoughts that plagued him. His hand went up to his head and his fingers pulled at his hair, the pain helped him but he could still hear the _other_ one talking. Thinking about his next steps. He came to a stop, his puppet and clone that resided on earth had spotted something interesting. Without further ado he was on earth, watching the girl who possessed the byakugan the _other_ one wanted. . Even if he had no eyes he learned ways to see. He watched as she put in her light creamed jacket and zip it up halfway, her forehead protector around her neck effectively covering the curse mark. By the way she flinched, Toneri knew she had spotted him. He kept calm and collected awaiting to see what she would do next. He wasn't disappointed. He let out a chuckle when he felt the sharp blade of the kunai touch his neck. " I was beginning to wonder if you had spotted me or not."

"I should kill you."

"Oh, but you won't. I can see it in your eyes. You have questions as do I." Not removing the blade, Toneri raised his hands in surrender, " Do it, with one movement you could kill me." Toneri pushed himself closer to the blade, he moved his head just slightly, blood appeared from the cut. Hinata retreated the blade after witnessing the act. She stayed behind him for a couple of seconds before she warily stepped aside and faced him. Keeping her distance.

On the outside Toneri looked the same, just like Hinata remembers him but there was something there that was different. The way he carried himself; there was no arrogance in his posture, his shoulders sagged but only if you looked closely. His head would flinch ever so often. After observing all of that Hinata knew something was off about him.

" The seal, you have it. How?" Still on guard Hinata answered him truthfully not sure what made her do it. "I don't know." The next thing he said caught her off guard, " It's for the best." His face was a mixture of relief and anger.

"For the best?"

"Yes, the _other_ won't get his hands on your byakugan."

"Other?" What did he mean, by other? Another what? Another him? Someone who worked for him? Hinata tried recalling her last encounters with Toneri, so far he was the same like she remembered and there was no other chakra signature present, she would have seen them with her bloodline. But that time with Sasuke, he was different somehow. "Th-the _other_ me, the one who wants-" his voice was filled with agony, his eyes brows furrowed and he sagged even further, he looked defeated and so much like a child. Having to watch Toneri in such a state made her take a step, her hands in front of her ready to reach for him. Her heart felt for him, the naive Hinata wanted to comfort the enemy, with great willpower Hinata stopped her advances. She placed her arms beside her then took several steps back. "I can't let _him_ out again, he-he." He began to mumble, he swayed back and forth, although his eyes were closed she could see his struggle."Toneri?" She asked, he jumped at her voice and then stalked towards her, his hand cupped the sides of her face, Hinata stood frozen. "You have to kill me, please...I don't know if I'll be able to stop him the next time. I hear his voice, tempting me. KILL ME!"

 **Authors Note:** so sorry about the late update, family members have come to visit and I just didn't have time to write the chapter and finish on time. I usually try to reach 2,000 words but this time I couldn't. Anyways hoped you enjoyed this late chapter, I had to add Toneri, I've been missing him, and what's up with the whole _other? Split personality?_ Till next update.


	37. Chapter 37 Unanswered questions

Chapter Thirty Seven

Unanswered questions

"KILL ME!"

His words echoed in her head, _kill me,_ those two simple words meant so much to Hinata. Killing him would be the best thing in the world, it could stop so many things from happening. The massacre of her clan, the countless deaths all over the world because of one man. Ending it would be the easiest thing to do, _Do it, kill him._ She couldn't, his cold fingers pressed against her skin, pleading her to end his life. He towered over her, her eyes capturing the way his lip trembled and on the corner of his eye a lonely unshed tear sat. The afternoon wind picked up and ruffled Toneri's white hair, for the first time Hinata wasn't staring at her enemy she was staring at someone who needed help. A person who had nothing left to live and just wanted to end it all. Her heart ached, if he was telling the truth about him having another; the Toneri from her future, then that meant the one in front of her had no plans to create what she lived through.

"I won't do it." Unconsciously her left hand reached up and settled it on Toneri's arm, he didn't react at the contact. He responded, his voice breaking, "Why?" Her heart clenched again.

"I can't." And it was the truth. Without her consent he removed one hand from her face and lifted her bangs up, his long thin fingers traced the mark. Hinata could not for the life of her do anything, it wasn't that she was immobilized or that Toneri was stopping her from doing anything. No, it was all her. something about Toneri was off, the way his voice broke with each word, just everything he was showing. But most of all was why she was letting him touch her if not so long ago she would have recoiled from his touch. "This is here for a reason, it was smart of you to create it. Could it be that it released itself because the _other_ is here? No..no, your cousin activated it- but how?" He was speaking to himself now, his fingers still tracing the outlines. Toneri had valid points, why appear now and not later, _what was going on?_

"This seal is different, unlike the curse seal your branch family bears, this one is designed for the main family is it not." His head cocked to the side, he released Hinata's face and just let his hands fall to his sides.

"The _other_ is so close to it but so far away, tell me why are you letting me get close to you? I could be lying about the _other_ coming back.I'm afraid he will tempt me and make me do everything he did in your timeline, he already is."

"I-I'm not sure why either, if I killed you...you wouldn't be a threat but there are other things worse than you that could show up if I decided to kill you. I won't do it." His anger flared, yet again he surprised her. In a blink of an eye, Toneri had a kunai placed over his heart and Hinata's hand on the handle and his hand placed over hers, "Push..DO IT."

Having enough, Hinata pushed Toneri to the closest tree, his back hitting and the blade now at his neck. "If you want to die do it yourself, why come to me?"

"You're going through the same thing as me. Do you honestly think I haven't tried ending it. That day when Sasuke was dying, that was me- the _other_ reluctantly helped. I don't know what to do."

"I will help _you_ and _only_ you. Control him as best as you can, I'll do some research-" Hinata paused once Toneri began to chuckle, that instant she knew _her_ Toneri was back.

"The fool, he thinks you could help him. You should've killed us when you had the chance." The blade pressed deeper. Hinata became cautious, so Toneri was telling the truth.

"Willing to kill _me_ and not _him,_ you trust too easily."

" Since you're here, I have questions. Our timeline is it gone?"

"No, what you want to know is if your friends are dead," He paused and mockingly thought about it, "No."

"What?" Hinata could have sworn that they were dead, Sasuke told her...when she was branded- he...

"Princess, you seem confused. As much as I want to talk to you, I'll be leaving." Toneri disappeared, for a brief second she saw as he struggled for dominance. Anger, frustration and questions left unanswered, she took all her anger on the tree Toneri stood moments ago. With each hit, her mind went back to the conversation, _kill me._ Another hit, she berated herself for not doing it. It was her one chance and she had not taken it. _Stupid. Why didn't you do it?_ She kicked and punched, her knuckles felt raw and blood started appearing. Sweat poured down her face, exhaustion taking over her body and her mind spiraling out of control. With the last remaining strength, Hinata roundhoused kicked the tree, splitting it in half. Her hands stood by her side, her chest heaved and her lungs overworking for oxygen. "Overworking yourself again." The voice startled Hinata, she turned and upon seeing a familiar face she ran to the person, her arms opening wide to embrace them. Never in her lifetime would she have thought of knowing Itachi, she always believed everything that was said about him since she was a little girl. "Itachi. I'm glad to see you. Wait..why are you here?" With her hands still around him she moved away just enough to look up at the Uchiha. His dark eyes looked down at her with concern, she blinked waiting for his answer.

"Came to check out how things were going." His voice was raspy, his young face was littered in cuts that seemed to be fresh, his hair was still tired in a low pony tail. Her arms circled around his waist, _He's lost weight._

"Itachi, why are you really here?"

He sighed, "To check on Sasuke," As he said that, Hinata activated her byakugan, Sasuke was nowhere in sight. "He's doing fine, it's the chunin exams. You are not supposed to show up yet."

"Yet?"

"You arrive at the village later on, I don't know what will happen with you here. Are there any other members of the akatsuki here with you." Itachi raised an eyebrow then nodded. Hinata gave one last squeeze, Itachi did the same and they parted from each other. "Last time you arrived, you fought your brother. You baited him, you wanted him to seek power to kill you. Is that what you're doing here?" Her eyes regarded the man she came to know, the man she hoped she knew, "If that is your intention I suggest you don't follow through with it. That will only make him go to Orochimaru."

"Seems that everything I intend to do only backfires. How is Shisui?" Itachi changed the subject, Hinata relented, "He's fine from the last time I saw him. I gave him the decision to decide what he wants to do with the remaining Uchiha clan."

"His decision?"

"Not sure, If you decide to visit him, speak to him. Advice him with what to do." Itachi gave a nod, he stepped close to Hinata and opened his arms and embraced her. He whispered in her ear, his voice raspy and breaking. "I'm sorry, you were too late on the warning." And just like that, Itachi disappeared in a flock of ravens. "What did you do?...ITACHI!"

 _In the near future;_

Hinata rocked back and forth. Her limbs shook, her eyes were clenched shut and her hands were over them, "I'm the last one…"

"Yes, and what are you going to do about it?" Hinata took a peek from behind her fingers, Sasuke and Sakura stood side by side watching the Hyuga sulk by herself, Sakura had a sad expression, Hinata glared, she was tired of those looks. Sensing Hinata's change in demeanor, she said sorry before leaving and making sure Hinata's vitals were fine after she went through.

"Please, leave. I want to be alone." Sasuke paid no attention, he stood rooted to the spot just watching Hinata. It unnerved her, after attempting at ignoring the uchiha she had enough. Hinata got up from her bed and approached the stoic Uchiha, "Leave." she pushed at his chest but he didn't budge, she gave up after a while and turned to go back to her bed, but at the cold words sasuke said next stopped her.

"Your sister's dead, your father ,your cousin- your whole family is dead." They were cold and unforgiving, for the past two weeks Hinata had been mourning the lose of her family, and all day long she had done nothing, given up completely. So, she got off her bed, stormed right in front of the Uchiha and slapped him across the face. His hand never went to his cheek, very slowly he turned back, his eyes filled with something. The corners of his lips twitched upwards, Hinata knew then what he did. He had baited her into reacting and she had fallen for it. "Looks like you're not broken yet. Work on that seal you've been wanting to make." Without any other words he turned and left leaving Hinata to ponder on what had transpired. He had a point she mused, on her desk beside her bed laid about six or so scrolls; some left opened while others collecting dust. "A seal for my eyes. I could tweak the branch family seal and make it my own." The last Hyuga set to work, the seal was going to be simple. Similar to the branch one, whenever the person died the secrets to the byakugan would be destroyed with the person. Hinata wanted to enhance it, if anyone ever thought of taking her eyes on the spot they would be unable to do so. She wanted to create it before Toneri turned everyone against each other, as long as he never got her eyes the last remaining ninja would have at a least a little more time to end Toneri's reign. The seal was simple but complex.

 **Authors note** ; Hello lovely readers. Hoping your Monday is going better than mine. Alright the story will veer off cannon ,things will be similar but different. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, now we know that Toneri almost has a split personality due to the future Toneri coming through. Wonder what's Itachi did, jej. Oh and the seal if fairly simple, more like a protection for Hinata. Till next time. Adios.


	38. Chapter 38 Holding The Future

**Chapter Thirty Eight**

 **Holding the Future**

 **Author's Note;** For those of you who have been following this story since the beginning I'm sorry to say that it has come to a close. More detail on what happened will be in the author's note at the end. Thank you

As soon as Itachi disappeared, Hinata Hyuga ran as fast as her legs could go, the stench of blood filled her nostrils as well as burnt wood. Itachi's words rang in her head for the fifth time, there were so many things that Itachi could have meant. Although she wanted to desperately hope she already knew what happened. Someway or another Itachi either approached Sasuke or the other way around. She shook her head, then used her byakugan to locate Sasuke. After spotting him Hinata made it to destination but stopped short. He wasn't there, she could have sworn he was there about ten seconds ago, he couldn't have disappeared. There was something amiss about the scene and everything around her. Accessing her bloodline she searched for the Uchiha, nothing, usually she felt life around her anywhere she went, this time everything was dead. Taking careful steps, Hinata stepped over fallen trees and the scorch marks that designed the ground. _Snap out of it._ Hinata whipped her head at the voice, her eyes searching for any clues and her blood line trying to find whoever had whispered that. She narrowed her eyes and took a defensive stance. Not trying to waste anymore time Hinata used a simple hand sign in order to deactivated the genjutsu she was sure she was under. _Nothing_. For almost a whole thirty minutes, the Hyuga used her extended knowledge and used from basic to complex hand sign and all of them failed to do anything. _It's not a genjutsu. Then what is it?_

There was nothing, the sky was dark but not like night had descended. It was barely the afternoon when she parted ways with her teammates. It wouldn't not have gotten dark so fast. The wind rustled her long hair, tendrils swayed in front of her face and she stumbled back, her hands went up to her head; her fingers glided from her scalp to the end of her long hair. _Why is my hair long?_ Her eyebrows scrunched up, she looked down at herself and saw the body of an adult and not her teenage one. A white cloak with the Hyuga symbol displayed on the back hung around her shoulders. She wore the very exact thing before she was sent back to the past. She had cuts around her arms and legs, the same ones she received against Toneri. _What's happening!?_

Not waiting for answers the Hyuga jumped to the nearest tree and made her way to highest point; as her feet touched the highest branch she took in the village. No sounds came from there, usually one would be able to hear the sounds of the villagers, the screams of excitement coming from the children. _Nothing._ Not looking back she made her way down and inspected the whole forest in hopes of finding someone. _No one._ The large gates she entered through were wide open, inviting her to step out. Having sensed nothing she ran out the gates towards the village in hopes of finding something. As she ran everything around became a blur, the village soon looked far away from her grasp. In a blink of an eye Hinata stood in front of her cousin, Neji had blood pooling down his mouth and around the front of his jacket, his eyes pleaded her to end things. Confused Hinata looked around, she was in a large room, her classmates looked down at her with surprise and some of disgust. Her eyes traveled back to her cousin, that's when she noticed her arm was outstretched, her palm open and hovering over Neji's heart. Her eyes widen in horror she extracted her hand back, Neji swayed before collapsing on the floor his eyes unseeing. Hinata was too shocked to do anything, she felt numb and sick with herself, voices soon erupted around her. She silenced everything , her eyes just taking in her actions. Only after the proctor for the third phase spoke did she react, "Victor, Hinata Hyuga." She scurried and kneeled beside her cousin, she tasted salt in her mouth as the tears flowed down. _Wha- what?...did I? Neji!_

"No, no,no. Please! Do something. I didn't meant to, _please!_ " Her hands gripped at his coat, shaking him while she sobbed uncontrollably. Not knowing what was going on, how she found herself killing her cousin, nothing made sense. So, she just let her body feel, numbing things would only make it worse for her. Hinata felt two strong arms pull her away from Neji's corpse, she tightened her hold on him but whoever was pulling her away succeeded. " . !" She struggled, kicking and hitting but to no avail. Finally giving up Hinata relaxed and just silently cried, " I'm sorry...I'm-"

"It'sss, alright. The cursse mark worked."

The chilling voice made Hinata's skin crawl, even more so as the person behind her touched her arm; their slim pointy finger tracing marks on her skin. She blinked twice, and struggled against the person, her whole body was covered in the same black marks when the curse mark activated. Then she knew, the person holding her was Orochimaru, "You'll be a great asset to me." Wondering how he appeared, Hinata looked around in search of someone who would help her, as her head came up she felt herself free and surrounded by darkness. First thing she saw was how big the moon looked, it was full and clouds surrounded it. The air was fresh and in the perfect temperature. It calmed her, her mind began to calm and her thoughts tried arranging themselves. Whatever she saw or did was not real, that she was under a genjutsu, that she had not killed Neji.

 _Hinata! Wake up!_ There was that faint whisper, the same voice that had told her to _snap out of it_. Her hands went up and covered her ears, she shook her head until the voice disappeared. "Hinata." Opening her eyelids she finally noticed she was heading to the gates leading out of the village, "It wasn't your fault." Slowly, the Hyuga turned, Sasuke had bandages around both his arms, and half of his face. He still wore a hospital gown that seemed recent, beside him was Naruto; his blue eyes showing sadness. It caught her off guard, she wondered what they were talking about. "You don't need power, Orochimaru can't give you that, _stay_."

"Or we will be forced to do it the hard way." Sasuke's Sharingan sprang to life, the red contrasting with the dark night. Hinata observed the scene, and concluded that something big must have happened for all three of them to be standing just feet away from the gates. Few memories surfaced, one in particular that involved the Uchiha and a certain pink haired ninja. There were rumors going about how Sakura had tried to stop Sasuke from going rogue, others were that she was going to join him. And from what she was seeing now, it was just as how it was descried. This time it was Hinata that was leaving. What had caused her to seek that? Her families honor was at stake, going rogue while being a Hyuga would definitely not sit well with her father. "I have to."

"No! We can control the curse mark, Kakashi already tried sealing it." So, the cause was the curse mark, then like she'd been hit she remembered the last thing she saw, Neji on the floor dying by her own hands. "Neji." She whispered. The hyuga captured how both Sasuke and Naruto cringed at the name, "It wasn't your fault, it was him."

"Thats...thats why. I'm not seeking him for power- I'm seeking him for revenge." Power, it didn't seem right, she already had enough of that, the only things that would lead her to leave the village would be something that would hurt her to the core. Neji's death, if the curse mark had anything to do with it, then that meant she would seek that person who placed it on her.

"Hinata. It doesn't matter, you family knew it wasn't you, they're trying to hel-" Naruto started but was cut off by Hinata's gentle fingers that applied pressure right in the back of his neck. He slumped forward, his whole world going black. Sasuke reacted quicker, he easily avoided Hinata fingers, his Sharingan trying to predict her next moves.

One moment to the next, the fight became more aggressive, the night sky turned bright and she could hear the voices of three different people close by. Her eyes rose up to find herself looking at an older version of Sasuke. In shock, Hinata missed the attack headed for her, Sasuke's katana rose above his head and made a slashing motion across her body. She twisted in pain, her hand going around her middle.

Stumbling backwards, she tried gathering her bearings and trying to make sense of what was going on. "It's been almost three years, three long years, and you greet us like this!" Sasuke shouted, he threw his katana aside and stalked towards the Hyuuga with intent of hurting her but he stopped, his eyes showcasing pain, "Why...we searched for you. We found a clue to your whereabouts a year ago, what we found instead was the rotting corpse of Orochimaru."

"H-Hinata." Naruto called from behind her, she took a quick peek. "Naruto."

"Come back, you achieved your goal. Now come back."

"I-I-"

"Step away from her." All three turned at the new person, Itachi Uchiha stood on top of a fallen structure, Sasuke ran and picked up his fallen katana, his sharingan activated. Naruto wasted no time, he tapped into the nine tailed fox's chakra and his appearance changed; his feral side coming out. "Hinata, it's time to go."

"Go? You mean, you're with him!" Sasuke turned to Hinata, his voice laced with accusation.

Hinata had lost count on how many things she's seen, after Itachi showed up she was not sure what happened then, different series of events transpired. There was one that differently struck out from the rest, it was the Uchiha, the ones she managed to save, they were fighting together with the rest of the ninja, It was the fourth shinobi war, from what she could see it seemed that she managed to be in good graces with Sasuke and Naruto. Toneri was there, fighting alongside them, but then everything went downhill from there. What she had hoped for the new future she was creating was far off on what her vision was. The future she fought for was a wasteland, for miles and miles it was lifeless, not trees or any signs of life were visible. Was this what was left of the future? All her hard work for nothing...then what was the point of going back if nothing was going to work. Everything she did was for the better, she wanted to see her friends smiling faces and see a future with someone she loved. All for nothing. Witnessing all her hard work, weakened her. Her knees buckled beneath her, tears streamed down her face and a scream of agony left her lips. _This is not the future I wanted!_

As if her wish had been heard Hinata found herself standing right over the portal that would send her back to the past, heart hammering Hinata felt a presence behind her, Sasuke was in front of her and his arm ready to push her over. "Go, before it's too late." Like last time, she saw how all her friends were fighting with everything they had, Toneri taking notice of them quickly advanced on them. Hope, there was hope growing inside Hinata, she knew what would happen if she went through the portal, what her decisions would lead. Now all she had to do was choose what to do. Go back and change things and hope for a better future or stay and die alongside her friends? Holding the future would be a heavy burden, something she was still trying to figure if she wanted that responsibility again. Would she have second chance if she messed up? Would it be granted again? How many times would she go back to get the future she envisioned? She oddly wondered if she had already done it before? A question best left for later. Real question was, was she really holding the future ?

 _The end_

 **Authors Note;** Well I must say that was sudden, the story ending abruptly. Honestly this fic was not going to go all the way to the very ending, since the very beginning I've had this ending in mind. You guys are wondering then why write it if it was going nowhere, good question- why not? Could Have easily been a oneshot, but nah. You might have thoughts like, I have wasted my time in a story that was not going to be going all the way, for that I'm sorry. But I Won't be, it was what I wanted to do since the very beginning. Honestly I could have gone all the way but I know for a fact that I would soon grow bored and won't be putting much effort into a story I have no interest in, that is why it's short. I hoped that you guys at least enjoyed it while it lasted. Will I write more after this fic, I'm not sure. _**LilyVampire; thank you for reviewing, it meant a lot to me.**_ Anyways. For those that will most likely hate me, that is fine too. Till next time

 _ **-TimelessRetreat**_.


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